Stay
by ChickDocHoliday
Summary: When Agent Jemma Simmons is captured by Hydra during a firefight, she ends up sharing a cell with The Winter Soldier... Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based solely on the movie version of Bucky Barnes. SPOILERS for movie- The Winter Soldier and Agents of SHIELD episode Turn, turn, turn. Pairing 'WINTERJEM', The Winter Soldier/Jemma Simmons
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Captain America: The Winter Soldier film and characters and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show and characters are owned by Marvel. I claim nothing besides my genius.**

**SPOILERS: This story is set after CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER and MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D episode "Turn, turn, turn..."**

**Published April 19, 2014. I call this pairing between The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) & Jemma Simmons "WINTERJEM"**

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~A WinterJem Story~

**Stay**

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Chapter 1

"_All along it was a fever_

_A cold sweat hot-headed believer_

_I threw my hands in the air, said, "Show me something,"_

_He said, "If you dare come a little closer."_

_-Stay by Rihanna_

* * *

"Who are you?"

She startled at the sound of a voice. Low… definitely male, and now, that she'd been left alone with nothing but a plate to protect her, she dreaded turning to face the man behind her. There was something ominous about his tone. Simmons looked over her shoulder, the room was small and dark. There in the corner was an imposing figure. A face peered out of the shadows at her, a man was sitting at a small kitchen table. A man with a metal arm… And all of a sudden she realized who she was serving… The Winter Soldier.

The Winter Soldier. She'd glimpsed his file once by accident. A file that was on Coulson's desk, well in Coulson's desk actually. She and Fitz had stumbled upon it while

they were searching for any information about GH.325, the drug that had brought both Coulson and Skye back to life and sped up their recovery time. She hadn't read

much of it… just enough to know this was top security info clearly not meant for her eyes. And that he was a master assassin, a Hydra enemy that Captain America

had fought but had never defeated. This in itself was enough to make her recoil. As she stared at him in sudden shock. She felt the blood going cold in her veins. She

wondered how much of this horror was registering on her face… how obvious it would be to him that she recognized him? She had to come up with something quick.

Some completely snappy answer…

"Uh… I, am … Jemma. I uh, work here." She said, because at this moment it seemed a safer thing to say than, _"I'm a prisoner here. Please don't hurt me."_

He glanced down at the plate in her hands, and then back up at her. "I've never seen you before."

"Oh right… um…" She placed the plate of food down on the table before him. "I'm new."

He stared at her for a long time before he spoke again, "Join me." He motioned for her to sit down.

Now she panicked. What in the world was she going to say to him? What if he found out she was actually a captured S.H.I.E.L.D. operative? She had to get out of here and back to her cell, it was at least devoid of assassins- she needed a good lie.

"My boss wouldn't like that." She turned and headed toward the door, pounding on it.

There was absolute silence as she waited for someone to open up. The Winter Soldier apparently hadn't moved. He made no sound.

Jemma snatched a look at him out the corner of her eye. He was regarding his dinner almost sadly, slowly sawing away at the steak with a knife. There was still no sound at the door, where were those Hydra agents? What was taking them so long? They'd certainly never cut it working with Coulson. She tapped her foot anxiously, and then finally after a couple minutes pounded on the door again, something she really didn't want to do in front of this assassin. She really couldn't look more desperate to escape him if she tried.

"Why don't you open the door yourself?"

She bit her lip and folded her arms. Folding her arms would certainly keep him at bay if he decided to kill her now. "I lost my key."

"I lost mine too." His eyes met hers knowingly.

She hugged herself tighter with her folded arms. Why in heaven's name had she thought Hydra would come and let her out just because she wanted to leave? Why had they even shoved her in with him to begin with? What possible outcome had they envisioned? They were Hydra after all, if they had wanted her dead they didn't need a master assassin to do it for them.

He nudged the empty kitchen chair beside him, "Chair's still available."

"_Be brave,"_ she told herself and forced herself to move across the room and sit down in that very chair, beside him. Beside The Winter Soldier.

"Do you want something to eat?" He asked meeting her eyes once again. He was so calm, she didn't think she'd ever met anyone so calm before.

She, on the other hand, was about to have an anxiety attack. "I… I don't have a plate." She also had no idea how she was going to choke down a steak and mashed potatoes while attempting polite conversation with Captain America's enemy.

He slid his plate in front of her, stabbing a large piece of the steak with a knife and taking it for himself.

"Oh." She now had his entire dinner in front of her. She was more than a little surprised at this bit of gallantry. "No, I can't take your food… that wouldn't be polite…"

"Take it."

She really didn't want it. She was too terrified to eat, but she lifted up the fork that came with it and managed a weak smile, "well then, thank you. Very kind of you…" Jemma toyed with the mashed potato and took a tiny amount of it on the tines and nibbled on it. When she turned to him again, she found him watching her intently, the most serious expression on his face.

"You haven't been here long," he said.

"Nope," she faked a smile.

"Who are you again?"

"Jemma… Simmons. Just Jemma really, no one calls me _Jemma Simmons_." _Oh my God, why did I just say that? I'm a complete idiot. If Skye were here… _He was still staring at her. Why was he staring? Couldn't he even crack a smile? He was going to figure out she was a prisoner and she was going to die, she was certain of it.

And then she noticed he hadn't touched the steak he'd rescued from his plate, it was just dangling off the end of the knife he was still holding in his metal hand. "Aren't you going to eat that?"

He looked in the direction she was pointing, his mannerism seemed slowed, delayed. He was definitely not a multitasker. Apparently he wanted to keep up this dinner ruse as well because he ripped a chunk of the meat from the blade and began to chew.

"So," she said not really sure where she was going with this, "do you always dine with the hired help?"

"Are you making fun of me?"

She choked, "No." _Dear God no! _"No, not at all. I'm just… terrible with small talk."

He seemed satisfied with this answer and gazed out into the distance, lost perhaps in his own world, and then he said, "I just wanted someone to talk to."

Not really the answer she was expecting. She lowered her silverware slightly, mirroring her defenses. "Well, there's a whole company outside your door, why don't you just go outside and talk to someone?"

His eyes were suddenly riveted to hers, "No key. Why don't you go outside?"

"Misplaced it," she said nervously, she thought they'd gotten past this. "Why don't you have a key?"

"Don't know."

"What? How can you not know?" Her curiosity made her bold.

"I just don't." His voice was gruff. He looked away, his long dark hair hiding his face momentarily.

She brushed through the mashed potatoes with her fork, combing it into spirals as if it she was raking the sand of a rock garden.

"What do you do here?"

"I'm a bio-chemi- er, kitchen help… I did study bio-chemistry at University though. Always wanted to go into that… yep… ah, yeah."

"Kitchen help?"

She pointed at the plate. "Kitchen help."

He studied her for a moment. "Is that what they wear in kitchens these days?"

Simmons glanced down at her blouse, slacks and flats. "Um… yes?"

"I don't think anyone from the kitchen has ever been in to bring me my dinner before."

She brought the napkin to her lips slowly, attempting to buy herself a little time before she had to come up with some intelligent sounding retort. "Oh no?" _And that's what she managed._ She cursed herself inwardly.

"No."

"Ah well, new… management."

He set the remainder of his steak down on the table with his metal hand, as he set his right elbow on the table leaning in toward her, a smirk on his lips. "Really?"

Simmons exhaled nervously. He was gazing into her eyes, and she found herself feeling a bit like a bug about to be pinned. There was no way he believed what she was saying… he was smiling though, so there was that. She had no idea if that meant he was genuinely enjoying their conversation or if he was thinking of doing her bodily harm because she was lying.

"Your eyes are so blue," she said. She had no idea why she'd said it. It was, of course, on her mind, he was looking right into her eyes.

His brow furrowed briefly, and his smile slipped. "What?"

"Um… nothing." Maybe she could palm her fork, it was the sharpest item she had lying around… "Just couldn't help but notice. You were staring," her words trailed off.

His jaw tightened. A muscle tensed and then released. The Winter Soldier lowered his eyes and then lifted them again to address her. His face seemed sort of agonized, perhaps even embarrassed. "I don't get many guests."

She nodded. "Ah… and you're stuck with my stunningly witty repartee. I'm sorry."

"Believe me, you're the best conversation I've had in a long time."

"Oh, now I'm truly sorry."

The door opened unexpectedly, and three Hydra guards clambered in.

Simmons turned, frightened. Unsure of what was coming next.

The Winter Soldier was on his feet, "What is it?"

One of them turned to him, "You're wanted at a briefing."

Another guard grabbed her roughly and practically lifted her out of her chair, "C'mon."

"I'm coming, I'm coming. You don't have to be such a brute you know."

The first guard, who had been speaking to The Winter Soldier, turned to her. "Take her back to her cell."

The Winter Soldier, now standing, taller than her, and much more imposing, called after her as she was being escorted out, "Hired help?"

"All right yes, I was lying about that."

"I know."

* * *

**Discography:  
**

"Stay" by Rihanna

"My Turn to Evil" by Letters vs. Numbers

"Weeping Willow" by The Verve

"Darkest Days" Album by Stabbing Westward (specifically "Drowning")

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Soundtrack


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Characters and settings for this story were provided for me by Marvel. I claim nothing but my own genius.**

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_**Stay**_

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Chapter 2

Jemma awoke the next day with an incredibly stiff back. She sat up, and for a moment she thought she'd overslept and wondered how she could have forgotten to set her alarm. She reached over toward her nightstand expecting to find her clock, the problem was, there was no clock nor was there a nightstand.

"What the?-" She lowered her hand to the pallet she'd been sleeping on, and looked out at the tiny black room she was in. It was nearly empty; a metal toilet and sink in one corner, and then the pallet she'd been sleeping on.

Simmons stood up rubbing her arms briskly as she attempted to negate the chill. She'd slept in her clothes, a thin white blouse, gray vest and matching slacks which were all crumpled now.

The toilet and sink were out in the open… she cringed at the idea she might actually have to use these without privacy, which she most likely would, she'd been asleep for heaven knows how long. There were no obvious windows but they must be monitoring her in there… probably a camera hidden in the room somewhere. She searched the corner of the dark room, but there was nothing obvious.

Her mouth tasted like the mashed potatoes she'd eaten last night and morning breath. There was a wrapped pink toothbrush sitting at the back of the sink. She assumed that was a hint. Beside it was a cheap looking plastic comb and brush. Okay, well they were there might as well get cleaned up, she supposed as she turned on the water and splashed it over her face. It was lukewarm, tolerable anyhow, then opened up that toothbrush, no toothpaste, and brushed.

Would Coulson have any idea where she'd gone? She wasn't even sure where she was, she thought trying not to worry about how desperate this situation probably was.

She sat down on her pallet and began to brush through her tangled hair. Skye would find her. Yes, that was it, Skye was always able to figure something out. Track her last known whereabouts and maybe… um… patch in to Hydra's computer system or something? That sounded unbelievable even to her. _They're not going to find me. _

Jemma sat the brush down slowly. That realization ringing in her mind. _I'm going to be stuck here. Or executed. _

Just as that thought entered her mind her cell door opened and in stepped one of the guards, clad in black with a rifle slung over his back.

She stood up hesitantly. "Yes?"

He handed her a plate full of breakfast food.

"Oh, yes I am hungry, thank you-"

"It's not for you," he hissed and pushed her toward the open door.

She nearly asked where she was going but as they walked down the corridor she began to recognize the path they were taking. She was headed back to The Winter Soldier's room. A feeling of dread seized her. Why was she going back? He knew she was a prisoner now, not just some underling… and he also knew that she'd lied to him. Her legs started to feel sort of numb as she walked on, as if she were being marched to her death, and maybe she was.

"Stop here," the guard commanded.

Yep, there she was, back in front of his door. At least he was getting breakfast, she hadn't had anything nor the opportunity to go to the bathroom. Her crumpled clothes clung to her, a little sweaty from being slept in. She'd had better mornings.

The guard unlocked the door and motioned for her to enter.

Simmons took an uneasy step forward.

The Winter Soldier was doing pull-ups on a bar in the corner of the room. Half dressed.

She nearly dropped the plate as the door slid shut behind her.

He turned, looking at her quizzically. He was a bit sweaty from working out, his muscled chest shining in the poor lighting. If he had seemed imposing yesterday she had her confirmation of how powerful he really was right now.

"It's you again."

She bit her lip and nodded. "Um, yes. Just me again."

He threw a towel over his shoulders. She couldn't help but stare at how his metal arm was attached to his shoulder. It was sort of horribly fascinating but she tried to not to be too noticeable as she studied the way it was fastened onto his body.

She moved forward and set his breakfast on the table. "Pancakes, scrambled eggs and toast… I have your breakfast, apparently."

He studied her for a moment. "Have you eaten?"

"No, no I haven't." She must've sounded needy as she described his pancakes.

"You eat it."

"Me? No, no… I couldn't." She had no idea what she was saying, being overly polite at a time like this. Obviously she was hungry. She looked over at him, a look of _are you sure that's okay with you _etched onto her face.

He met her eyes coldly. Unmoving.

She sat down hastily and began to dig in. It was pretty good actually. "Are you on a diet or something? This is the second meal you've missed."

The side of his lip quirked a bit, then he withdrew and moved into the back, past his messy bed and into a separate area that she hadn't noticed before. He shut a door behind him and shortly afterward she heard the sound of a shower going.

"Well, that's a little unnerving," she muttered stuffing scrambled eggs into her mouth. Off to her left was a small bedroom area of, what seemed to be a studio apartment. He liked it to keep it in a bit disarray apparently. Blankets were lying half on the bed, and half off. Clothes lay all over the floor, boots, and black pants, shirts and… oh my goodness, underclothes… She blushed. It was kind of gross but he was actually so attractive, and presently in the shower, that her mind immediately went to the idea of him shucking off his clothes and just leaving them on the floor where he'd dropped them. Rather, the idea of him taking the clothes off… He did have quite a nice body. Stumbling in on him while he was doing his morning workout routine shirtless was… well… nerve wreaking.

Her eyes moved away from the underclothes in question, which were black, like everything else he seemed to wear… and roved over a TV monitor, a beat up dresser piled with paperbacks, and above it a mirror-

A mirror!

Jemma crossed the floor and headed over to the mirror, attempting to maneuver around haphazard boots and boxer briefs. The mirror, like the dresser was worn. It looked about seventy years old at least. It had that 1940s feel to it, a nice solid wood frame and brownish cracks around the edges of the glass itself. How much had this mirror been witness to?

She peered into the clouded surface and spied her own face, makeup smeared from sleep, the little black bow at her collar was turned sideways.

"Oh for Pete's sake." She lowered her eyes, trying, in vain, to see the thing in order to fix it and when she looked back up into the mirror she saw The Winter Soldier, gazing back at her. He was behind her!

She spun around, and backed up against the dresser so violently she knocked several books to the floor.

He stood there, in fresh clothes, his wet bangs hanging in his eyes. "Now you're messing up my room."

"I uh…" She laughed almost manically, trying her best at natural laughter. Of course she didn't really want to come out and call him a slob. She wasn't certain how forthright she could be with him. "I'm sorry about that. Just didn't have a mirror in my room-"

"Cell."

"What?"

"In your cell." He tossed his wet towel on the floor. "You're a prisoner here right?"

For a moment she just stood there, frozen, not realizing for about a minute that her mouth was simply hanging open and then she found her lost voice again. "Right."

"Why do they keep bringing you here?"

"I don't know."

His eyes dropped suddenly, moving down the length of her slender frame and then returning hastily to her eyes.

It happened so fast she wasn't certain. She nearly convinced herself that no, he couldn't have just done that. She slowly folded her arms in front of her body. That was why, she thought. He must've thought so too. Had they simply thrown her in there with him because they had absolutely no need of her, and the only reason she was alive was because they were keeping her as a… a… plaything for him?

"Why are you a prisoner here? Who are you?"

"I'm Jemma Simmons," she said starting to feel a little less powerful than she had before this new concept had begun to take hold. "As I told you before."

"You also told me you were kitchen help."

"Yes," she whispered, "I did didn't I?" Passing out, something she'd never done before in her life, seemed like something that might be happening now. The room seemed to be growing dark, and although she could see him talking, his mouth moving- she couldn't hear him, couldn't make sense of anything he was saying. There was a blackness around his body… his face… until there was just a tunnel and his face just a pale flicker within it.

* * *

"Jemma?"

That was a nice voice. Male. It sounded concerned. She wondered who he was concerned for.

"Jemma?"

Someone touched her cheek tenderly.

She smelled something sort of dank, and moldy and as she opened her eyes she saw something bunched up and in her face, it seemed black at such close proximity.

"Hey, Jemma."

"Uh?" She turned her face, her head rolled over something sort of soft, and she looked up into the face of The Winter Soldier. He was over her. And then she remembered, she was captured, a prisoner of Hydra and she was- on the floor- no, on a stinky pile of dirty clothes- She staggered to get to her feet.

"Hey, hey slow down soldier…"

She flailed on her way back up, struggling to gain a foothold over the mess on his floor. He caught her elbow as she lost her balance and helped her momentarily steady herself.

"I'm okay," she pushed away from him.

"You need to sit down."

She pressed one hand to her forehead, she needed to vomit… and use the toilet. Neither of which she really wanted to confess to. She wandered backward, toward the kitchen table all the while trying to get away from him and he was steadily moving toward her the entire time. Hands outstretched- she wasn't certain of his plans.

"Sit." He pointed at the chair behind her.

"I'm going to vomit," she blurted.

He took a step back, and pointed in the direction of his bathroom.

She raced back across the piles of garbage and into the bathroom, still steamy from his shower. His bathroom had dark fixtures, black porcelain sink, shower and toilet, which she became intimately familiar with in short time as she vomited. All of that breakfast she'd been scarfing down ravenously came right back up. What a waste. At least she'd made it to the toilet, she would have felt pretty bad if she'd gotten it all over the floor… also, being a prisoner, who knows the sort of punishment might have come from a mistake like that.

After a few minutes, she sat back on the floor, sweating, her head pressed up against the wall. Her vision was clearer, her breath came more steadily. The bathroom was black and gold and dim. The dark probably masked dirt, so that was good anyhow.

So, here she was… never in a million years had she expected to end up vomiting in The Winter Soldier's bathroom. Also, she probably would have never guessed that while sitting on the floor of the bathroom she'd be as annoyed by his lack of ability to clean his toilet as she'd been with past boyfriends.

A soft knock at the door woke her from her revelry.

"Um, yes…" she said weakly.

"Are you all right?" It was him.

"Better now. Thanks."

He cracked open the door, but didn't enter. "Do you want a shower?"

A million thoughts entered her mind. Why yes, she most definitely _did _want a shower. Was she safe with him? Would he walk in on her if she took off her clothes? She did feel really gross though, especially after throwing up. Would taking a shower cause her to be sick again? Sometimes all that steam made her woozy… but in the end the idea of the hot water melting her troubles away won out.

"Yes, I would."

"All right. Towels are beside the sink."

She glanced over at the shower drain, of course it was plugged with dark hair, eww…

"Um, are those towels… clean?"

He apparently hadn't heard. There was no reply.

Jemma stood up on wobbly legs and peered out the door. The Winter Soldier was lying in the disarray of his bed watching TV. _Oh my God, he's such a guy._ At least he wasn't doing anything too maniacal. She closed the door, inspected the fluffy towels, which were indeed clean and after a quick cleaning of the shower stall, slipped in and took a long hot shower.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Here in the Marvel Universe I own nothing but my own genius…**

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**Stay**

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**Chapter 3**

Jemma emerged from the bathroom about an hour later, clean, with the exception of the day old clothes she'd thrown back on. Her make-up scrubbed away, leaving her fresh faced and feeling a little better, though still weak after throwing up.

The Winter Soldier turned as she entered the room. "Better?"

"Yes," she blushed, "thank you." Her hair clung to her neck and trailed down her back in long wet tendrils. "I um, I used your comb I hope that's okay. I promise I don't have the cooties."

"What?-"

"Oh right, never mind. Nothing…" she muttered realizing how silly she probably sounded.

"So, why are you a prisoner here?"

She met his eyes, a surge of terror rising up in her. This was what had made her pass out earlier, just the idea that if he knew she was with S.H.I.E.L.D. he would not be quite as nice to her as he had been. Jemma knew she was possibly the world's worst liar so lying here would probably look and sound ridiculous and it might just make him angry. Again, not where she wanted things to go… so she felt trapped, anxious. Her stomach flipped, and she gripped the head of his bed to hold herself up.

He stood. "Do you want to sit down?" Unfortunately, he was offering his bed as the place to sit, this did not actually make her feel comfortable. Also, the bed looked well slept in, unmade, and unkempt.

"No, thank you."

"Who do you work for?"

"I'm a scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D." she said deciding to just throw it out there. Lying really wouldn't be a better solution. If he was going to get angry she'd just deal with it now.

"A scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D?" His tone had a note of disbelief in it.

"A bio-chemist really," she chimed.

"So you're… smart. You have what, a PHd?"

"Two… actually."

"Why did they bring you here? How are you useful to them?"

"I don't think I am. There was a firefight with some of the members of my team, Fitz and I got pinned down, and I was left out in the open. One of the Hydra operatives grabbed me, and used me as a shield so they could escape, and they brought me here. The next thing I knew I was serving you dinner. I have no idea why, or what is going on. Please… you must believe me."

"Who's Fitz?"

"Oh, he's my lab partner and… friend," she said perplexed that he didn't seem to have heard anything she'd just said.

"You're just a scientist, so then why did they bring you here?" He took a quick look around the mess he called a bedroom and then he stared directly into her eyes. "You aren't useful."

Insulting but probably true. "No," she replied flatly, "I can't imagine I am."

He moved past her into the empty area of the room, and sat down at the kitchen table. Once in there he turned back and looked at her. He seemed to be contemplating something. His fingers laced together, the human flesh and the bionic closing over each other as he watched her now.

It was quite an uneasy feeling to be the subject of The Winter Soldier's gaze. She bit her lip and tried to seem preoccupied as she stood there, supported by his bedframe.

"You know why they brought you here," he said at last.

"I, I, I suspect kitchen help probably wasn't on their minds."

He didn't reply. His eyes just dropped down to her one small hand gripping the headboard of his bed, and then back into her eyes.

Jemma quickly released her grip on his bed and took several faltering steps forward, finally coming to the other kitchen chair and sitting down. She wasn't certain what to say, yes, she'd considered that possibility already. Should she beg him not to hurt her? He didn't seem particularly cruel, but he did seem sort of unfeeling, she expected that he would probably leave her alone and let the guards escort her back to her cell once they decided to make a return visit.

"What time do you think it is?"

His eyes flicked up to a clock she hadn't noticed before. "Ten."

"Is this how you generally spend your days?" Asking him anything to get his mind off of this whole business of her being with S.H.I.E.L.D. and etc. seemed a good idea at the moment.

"Sometimes the guards do come in around this time to get me."

And as soon as the words came out of his mouth the door slid open and in came two Hydra guards. "Briefing," one said to him.

The Winter Soldier stood up, and in one fluid motion threw a dagger at the guard closest to the door, nailing him directly in the eye. At nearly the same time he knocked the guard closest to him into the wall with his bionic arm, leaving a dent.

Both of the Hydra men lay dead or unconscious on the floor, and The Winter Soldier quickly took a rifle off of one of them.

It was brutal and it was graceful, and it happened so fast Jemma was still trying to comprehend that she'd just seen him murder two people in front of her with such cold efficiency.

"Come with me."

"W, what are you doing?" she sputtered.

"Saving your life."

She felt mechanical… numb and confused.

The Winter Soldier took one of the guards' keycards and let them out of his room with it. "Stay behind me."

Jemma followed him just a few steps behind. The corridor was white, and austere. Her mind was still trying to catch up with itself, one moment they'd been chatting the next he'd taken out two men. She'd been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. aboard the Globemaster… affectionately called "The Bus" for a while now and had seen some action, but she'd never seen anything like that. The speed and ferocity of the attacks… she suspected this is what it might be like to watch Captain America in battle, because The Winter Soldier was just that impressive.

They came to an intersecting hall, and he paused there, he peered around the corner. She bunched up behind him, nervously, perhaps a little too close.

The halls were empty, which seemed odd. There was usually someone wandering around with paperwork, or guards milling about when she was marched out of her cell and down to his room. Further, the halls had been positively brimming with activity when she had been brought in after being captured. Now… they were quiet, unnaturally so.

As the two of them made their way down the right passageway, her flats tapped along noisily. She came close to taking them off but The Winter Soldier never turned around and asked her to remove them so she assumed it wasn't a big deal.

The hallway opened up, and he pressed his back to the wall. She followed suit. The two of them inched down the hall.

The Winter Soldier's face hardened, and he fired the assault rifle. At what, she had no idea, she couldn't see past him.

There were a few answering bullets fired in their direction, lodging into the wall above her head.

Jemma crumpled into a protective heap against the wall, and hidden behind a large guard's desk as he continued forward, firing back and forth until the weapon was out of bullets. He was nearly out of sight himself- she crawled forward frantically, he was her only hope of escape.

There was a pool of blood… and a pile of wounded Hydra soldiers lying on the white linoleum floor.

She struggled to get to her feet to catch up with him. If she hadn't already thrown up earlier she would've chosen now as a really good time to both pass out and throw up. Now there was nothing left in there to vomit out though so her body just retched a couple times with no result.

"Jemma." There was a steady voice at her ear.

She spun around.

It was The Winter Soldier. "They were waiting for us."

"H, how could they have been?" She was actually proud of herself that she was able to muster up the courage to say that because inside she was falling apart.

"I don't know." He had a new rifle in his hands now, and began moving forward, alert and ready for an attack.

Sheer terror was making it really hard to think straight, "Maybe they bugged your room?"

He didn't reply.

"W, where to?" They had entered a particularly narrow hallway now, there was a sort of hum of computers coming from one side.

He crept down the hall, and she followed. Every few moments she'd look behind her. This was like the worst game of hide and seek she'd ever played in her life, and the most deadly. Sadly, the _seeker _would not just tag her when he found her. It was at one of these moments of walking forward and looking backward that she slammed into his back. And then feeling simultaneously stupid and horrified that he might just turn around and shoot her, she jumped back.

He merely glanced over his shoulder. "Try to stay calm."

Jemma touched her collar absently, his back was rock hard.

They crept up the narrow hallway, and as they walked maybe 20 ft. and it began to open back up again to a normal size, that was when she heard people running toward them. The heavy boots in the distance, and the sounds of men shouting orders…

The Winter Soldier turned around and looked past her, then quickly slung the rifle over his shoulder and tried a metal door in front of them. It didn't give. He jogged forward a few steps and found another metal door, this one swung open when he tugged on it and he ushered her inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Just playing around inside the Marvel Universe, but I really don't claim to own any of it, characters, comics, film. I only lay claim to my own personal genius…**

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**Stay**

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**Chapter 4**

That sound she'd heard earlier, that wasn't the humming of computers at all. It was the humming of an electrical panel.

She stood there for a moment before she realized he'd said a word. It was incredibly loud in there. All dirty cement floors and walls, a water bug sat motionless on the floor. There were rows of electrical panels on the left, and janitorial equipment left behind on the right that didn't look like it had been moved in a decade. The ceiling was odd, in that, on the right side it sloped and the wall appeared jagged, as if making room for something on its other side.

"Mechanical Room!" he yelled.

She wasn't quite certain what he was talking about.

"C'mon," he moved past the janitorial equipment and into the darkness created by that jagged wall on the right side of the room.

She followed, blind. "Where are we-"

Jemma slammed into his back again.

He turned around.

She couldn't make out his face in the darkness, and if he'd said something she would never have known, it was just too loud in there but she suspected that his expression was probably exasperated.

"I'm sorry… It's just very dim," she shouted but before she realized what was happening she felt him touch her hand. Instinctively she pulled back. Seconds later she felt him touch her hand again, with his human hand, this time though he didn't let go, he yanked her forward and placed her hand on a railing of some sort.

His hand remained for several moments, covering hers, warm and strong. He held her hand firmly in place to make certain she understood not to let go of the rail she assumed, and then she felt his fingers brush against her wrist... At first Jemma thought it was because it was so dark and he just could not see, but then his fingers moved further up her left arm…

"Wait, what?-"

She felt his hand moving slowly up her arm until he found her shoulder, there he stopped. Apparently he was blind too. She felt him maneuver around her body and then his metal hand clamped down on her. He took her gently by both shoulders and turned her until she had both hands on railings.

The unshaved side of his face was against her own suddenly, his hair brushing against her eyelashes.

"Go up the stairs," he breathed against her cheek.

Jemma's breath caught in her throat, he was so close. Instead of replying she nodded, guessing that being he was so near her, he would feel her nodding and she wouldn't be forced to try to squeak out some sort of response.

The tip of her shoe tentatively touched a step and slid onto it, as he was pressed in tight to her back, his hands now just behind her own as she felt along in the dark.

They moved slowly ascending a cold, iron-wrought stair. It turned, and turned and she realized as they moved as one that it must be a spiral stair. Up and up and up it went until she came to the end of the railing and stopped, groping the air in front of her.

"What is it?" His voice was warm, his lips a millimeter from her ear.

She felt sort of dizzy, cradled in his arms, his cheek pressed against hers… but now she had to say something. She had to pull herself together. Her emotions were all over the place. "I ran out of railing."

"What?"

He took a step forward into her, pressing himself closer to her and causing her to worry that she was going to fall over the end.

Jemma grasped the railing with all her strength.

"There's a door," he said forcing it open.

White light came streaming in and she felt herself blind again. This time blinded by light. She could hear a bird in the distance and then she squinted. "We're on the roof?"

They both staggered out into the open, squinting.

There was a mountain to the left, tall green pine trees. Jemma walked over to the right side, and looked down.

The Winter Soldier had joined her, he leaned out over the edge. "Two stories down."

"And then… down the side of a mountain?"

"Yes." He strode forward, his boots crushing loose stone beneath them. Moving faster than a normal human, and leaving her behind before she realized she should really be right behind him.

Jemma followed him hastily.

"Not so fast Agent."

That voice was new. Jemma stopped instantly and snatched a look over her shoulder. The Hydra guards had caught up to them. She raised her hands over her head tentatively.

A bullet passed through the guard's eye, and he crumpled to the ground.

Jemma covered her mouth with a shaking hand. She had not just seen that.

A stream of guards spewed forth from the door they'd just exited, each one taking aim at her and each one in turn shot down by a sniper she didn't see until there was no one left standing.

Shaking she ripped her eyes from the door, and the dead bodies there, and focused on the direction The Winter Soldier had taken. "Oh my God, this is not happening. This is not happening-"

"Jemma."

She startled.

The Winter Soldier popped up from behind a generator.

"Oh God…" She felt as though she might collapse.

"Are you all right?"

"Was that you? Did you kill those guards?"

He met her eyes and for the first time she realized it was like there was nothing there. Just a blankness, where there should be a window to his soul there seemed to be nothing but an empty window. A beautiful ice blue window… devoid of human emotion.

"I was protecting you."

That was probably true, nevertheless she didn't want him to help her as he was offering now, offering to take her arm and steady her because they were about to try to climb off of the roof. She needed to stay strong. She needed to live through this and get back to Fitz, back to "The Bus" and call her parents, and consider what the really important things in life were because all of a sudden she was beginning to think that she might die and maybe there were a few things that were more important to her than her job. Maybe she needed to reevaluate her life. Maybe fall in love… she hadn't seemed to manage that one yet…

"We have to get down Jemma."

"What?" She turned and realized he was talking to her, pointing at the edge of the roof in front of her.

He tossed the rifle away.

"What are you doing?"

"It's empty."

She stared at the rifle in disbelief and then raced to the edge where there was metal ladder that apparently didn't go all the way to the bottom.

"Come on, I'll help you down."

She didn't have any choice, she had to be brave, and she knew that she could because she'd once thrown herself out of "The Bus". This would be a piece of cake.

Jemma began down the ladder-

"No, we'll go a faster way."

"W, what faster way?" she asked as she climbed back up slowly.

He took a step toward her and she took a step back.

"We have to hurry. I'm going to lift you up."

"What?!" A second later she felt his metal arm around her back and his human arm slide under her knees. She fell against his leather jacket and then scrambled to switch positions as he sauntered over to the edge.

Jemma looked down, the toe of his boot knocked several small stones over the side of the tremendous drop.

"Oh God," she uttered and then began to cling more tightly around his neck and attempted to swing her legs around him as if she was a child climbing onto her parent for support. He tried to catch her as she struggled to readjust herself. If Hydra was watching it would've truly been something for the late night guards to watch, rewind and watch again… it was slapstick.

Somehow throughout all of this squirming he had managed to keep his balance at the very edge of the building, thirty feet up.

She pulled herself up higher, tighter around his neck and met his eyes. Jemma had managed to get herself face to face with him.

The Winter Soldier looked into her eyes with something akin to annoyance and then as if realizing something, lowered them. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, and her body pressed flush against his. He lifted his face and met her eyes once more this time with a look of uncertainty.

Jemma realized the position she'd put them in and blushed. "Oh!" And attempted to rearrange herself, "I just don't want to fall."

He swung her legs back over his arm, putting her back into the threshold position. "I'm not going to drop you, just-" He leaped off the building.

She yelped.

"-hold on." They landed and his body seemed to absorb the fall easily. He got up with her still holding tight and ran deep into the forest before he finally came to a stop at a large boulder, and leaned back against it.

"Oh my God," she shivered as he let go of her.

As her feet touched the ground her legs felt like wet noodles. She slid down, onto the forest floor and rested there. Her pulse was racing. Her fingers tangled into her hair, and pressed against her temples. She wanted to be back in the lab, just working, just running some tests… just anything normal. And then it occurred to her-

"You saved my life," Jemma looked up at The Winter Soldier. "Thank you."

He stared at her, peering through his bangs, as if he didn't fully comprehend her words. "It's a long way back… to civilization."

"Do you have a phone?"

"No."

"A laptop? ipad? Um… anything?"

He tilted his head to one side as if he was trying to figure out what language she was speaking and then shook his head.

She sighed, "It's, it's not a problem. I'll find my way to a road and just keep walking."

He pushed away from the boulder. "Where will you go?"

"Back to _The Bus_."

"Bus? You work on a bus?"

She thought about it for a minute and grinned. "Yes, well sort of," she stood up and brushed pine needles from her slacks.

"I'll take you back," he offered.

"You will?" Somehow this sounded a little too eager. She decided to tone it down a bit. "Well, I mean, that's very kind but I don't think my friends would easily accept you."

He glanced down at the lichen sadly, and toed it with his boot. "I'll take you to a town."

She smiled a little, "That would be a tremendous help." Some stupid part of her was flattered that The Winter Soldier was protecting her, the same part that was being kicked by a logical part of her for being stupid, but for the life of her she wasn't sure why.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Marvel Universe, I'm just screwing around with the characters…**

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**Stay**

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**Chapter 5**

"So, what made you go back to work for Hydra?" Jemma said as she worked her way over some large rocks. It was getting dark. Jemma and The Winter Soldier had spent the day climbing further and further down the mountain.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, after you and Captain America fought I thought you had made a break with them? I mean, that's what it said in your file anyhow… not that I read a lot of it of course."

He stopped and turned around to look at her. Somehow after all that walking he hadn't even broken a sweat, she on the other hand was sweaty and dirty from climbing over rocks and rooting around for mushrooms or anything edible on the ground.

"What file?"

"Ohh… right. Classified I'm afraid. Shouldn't have brought it up." She came a few steps closer to him. God, she was a terrible liar.

"Your _friends _have a file on me?"

"Well, I think it was originally the KGB's file… again, not really sure. We should keep going."

"Why, why would the KGB have a file about me?" He stood there staring at her. A dumbfounded look on his face.

Jemma walked down the mountain past him, he was not following her though, so after a few moments she turned back around.

He hadn't moved.

"Are you coming? We should probably think about finding something to eat don't you think?"

He seemed nearly forlorn.

"Are you all right?" She took a couple steps back toward him.

He flinched, his brow furrowed, as if he was trying to reason out everything she'd said.

She folded her arms. "Mister Barnes?"

His eyes were riveted to hers immediately. "What?"

"Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm hungry."

She smiled to herself, "well, one would think so! You shouldn't have let me eat all of your food."

"You needed your strength," he said. His voice seemed to have returned to its normal flat monotone.

"And you don't?"

He started back down the mountain, getting in front of her again, "I'll eat after."

"After what?" she called as she scrambled down after him.

He didn't reply.

"Mister Barnes, you're going to pass out if you don't eat something."

"I'll be fine. I've gone longer in the past," he said darkly.

They worked their way through the trees.

"When?" she pressed.

"I don't… I don't know." He spun around, "It doesn't matter, and stop calling me by that name."

"W, what name? Barnes?"

"Yes! That's not my name."

"Oh. I thought, well never mind…" She bit her lip to remind herself to keep quiet, definitely not her strongest suit.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He knocked a harmless fern to one side, "what? What is it?!"

"It's just, well, that's what your file said."

"File." He clenched his jaw. "Well it's wron-"

This seemed a good time to chime in with more important information. "You'll be happy to know it listed your full name. James Buchanan '_Bucky'_ Barnes."

The Winter Soldier looked a little like someone who had just opened up a rather disgusting garbage can and taken a gander inside. "Bucky?"

"A nickname apparently."

"What the hell kind of a name is that?"

"I dunno. I expect its short for _Buchanan_," she said.

"That's the stupidest name I've ever heard."

"Well… then I won't mention the nickname I had at University." She started down the mountain again, the forest was really starting to get dark and the thought of getting caught out there in the woods in the dark did not appeal to her. She had been hoping for some sort of a break in the trees just so she could at least look at the stars.

He took a step to one side and was suddenly standing directly in front of her. "That… is _not _my name. That file is wrong," his voice wavered.

Jemma summoned up all of her courage. She hadn't wanted to open her mouth about the file she'd rummaged through with Fitz, the file she was never supposed to have seen to begin with, but it was out in the air now, nothing she could do about it, so now she'd have to discuss it with this master assassin who worked for Hydra. It was her own fault really for being such a know-it-all.

"What is your name then?"

He faltered, his mouth open… searching, his lips working and then annoyed he pushed past her. "We need to find a place to rest for the night."

"Should I find some wood for kindling then?"

"No wood."

He had gotten quite a bit ahead of her, he was apparently determined to put some distance between them. Perhaps he didn't want to have to keep talking to her? Jemma had thought for one hopeful moment that he remembered who he was. She thought of that chilling photo of him in cryo-freeze. Poor man. She couldn't imagine what he'd been through.

"But, shouldn't I help find some wood for a fire? I don't want you to do it all yourself. I can do something to help…"

They came to a small clearing where several trees had toppled, possibly during a storm, and moss had grown over the top of them. It provided an opening to the heavens where she was able to make out the faintest stars in a cloudless sky.

"We won't need any firewood because there won't be any fire." He slumped down to the ground in front of one of the fallen trees and rested against the tree for support.

"No, no fire?" Jemma hugged her body for warmth.

"Someone might see the smoke."

"Right, yes. You're right of course." She sat down on top of one of the fallen trees.

He stared at her. Studying her. "Are you cold?"

"Cold, oh… no, of course not," she waved away the idea with one hand. Actually she was absolutely freezing now that they had stopped walking and the sun had gone down. Her clothes were silk and a thin tweed and she'd been sweating in them for hours as they ran from Hydra. Now, they were wet and she had stopped moving. It was cold.

The Winter Soldier stood and took off his leather jacket. "Take it."

"But then you'll be cold."

He took two steps forward and handed it to her. "I'm fine."

The jacket sat on her lap for a moment, warm with his body heat before she slid an arm into a sleeve. She couldn't look at him, couldn't believe he was being so kind to her.

"Thank you," she said at last. "It's a very nice jacket."

When she did finally look over at him through the darkness, she thought she could make out the faintest smile.

"So…" Her breath met the cold air and mist formed in the air before her. "How much farther do you think before we find a town or something?"

"Days maybe."

"Days?" Her voice pitched a little higher than she'd expected. Stress, she supposed and exhaustion. She had vomited earlier and this was the first time she'd been able to sit down since then.

"I could try to make a rabbit trap in the morning. We could both use something to eat."

"Oh, do we have to?" It slipped out before she could stop herself. Of course they needed food even if it was a poor, helpless bunny. He was probably especially hungry.

He did not reply.

The moon shone through the trees and she was able to see him again, it was a waxing moon, nearly full. The Winter Soldier was lying down on his back looking up at the stars.

"Why did you save me?" Jemma said, breaking the silence with the rather awkward question

"Aren't you tired?"

Jemma wasn't sure she could sleep, she was cold, the moon was really bright and a master assassin was going to be laying on the ground nearby. "I guess." She took off his jacket, tried to find a comfortable spot and pulled the jacket over her as a blanket.

"You don't want to do that," he said. "The earth will steal your body heat and make you a lot colder. Put the jacket between yourself and the ground like a mattress, or wear it."

"Oh." She put it back on. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said softly.

She lay there with the lapels of his jacket pulled up around her ears for a while, shivering. At least she had a coat on, he had nothing and it didn't seem to be bothering him all that much. Of course that's probably why the Russians called him _The Winter Soldier _to begin with. Probably not because they pulled him out of the freezer every so often to kill someone but most likely it had to do with him being tough. She wished she was tough too, because it was really hard to sleep when she was so cold, even twisting her legs together for warmth was not doing much for her lower half.

Jemma strained to see him in the dark. He seemed to be asleep, lying on his back, arms hugging his torso. She wondered just how much warmth he was really able to get from his bionic arm.

A thought occurred to her then, she was awake… He had one weapon on him, one dagger. Maybe if she was quiet she could take that dagger for herself. Sure, he was being considerate, he was helping her, but he was still Hydra and he was Captain America's enemy, she couldn't really trust him.

What would he do if he woke up as she was trying to take it though? Would he hurt her? She bit her lip, maybe she'd just have to explain what she was doing if he caught her… _Hello, yes, just stealing your dagger not planning on stabbing you to death with it while you were helpless sleeping there, completely trusting me not to kill you. And thank you by the way for saving my life, going to repay you now by stealing from you. _

His breathing seemed steady. Could he have fallen asleep already?

She sat up slowly, the leather jacket creaked a little and she remained sitting, a look of horror on her face. _Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up. _

He didn't move.

Jemma rolled over onto all fours, and crawled over to him, well to his feet anyway. That's where she'd seen him put it. In the side of his boot. She peered down alongside his calf, there was the small handle sticking out. She slid her fingers down into his boot slightly. Dreading the notion of him waking up and clocking her with his metal arm.

The Winter Soldier lay there, the moonlight shone on his face, in his dark hair, over the curve of his lips… She hadn't really even noticed his lips before but they were beautifully shaped… kind of pouty… Jemma turned back to the mission at hand. Retrieving the dagger before he woke up.

She worked it out slowly, gently, as quietly as she could. And voila! She had it! _Yes._ And he was still asleep, on his back, arms folded around his torso for warmth.

Jemma crept slowly backward, back over to the spot she'd come from. Once there she lay down immediately, and studied the blade she'd just taken. In the dark it looked sort of, not actually like a dagger at all… Actually, it looked like that steak knife he'd been eating the steak off of that first night she brought him his dinner. Well, anyhow, it was a weapon, and now it was in her possession. She slid it into the top of her sock and covered it with her pant leg. She couldn't put it in the jacket pocket, she imagined he'd want that back tomorrow.

She flipped up the lapels again and laid her head down on the lapel rather than on the cold body-heat stealing ground.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I am borrowing the characters, stories and worlds from Marvel to use for my personal enjoyment. I own nothing here but my own genius…**

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**Stay**

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**Chapter 6**

She awoke to the sunlight on her face, and someone walking around nearby… Jemma opened her eyes a crack. It was cold, and her face and hair felt wet, clammy… She was outside. Oh that's right… it took her a minute to remember what was going on.

There were a pair of black boots on the ground across from her.

She pulled herself into an upright position, brushing leaves and pine needles from her hair. The Winter Soldier sat on a fallen tree across from her, a broken branch in his hands.

"Did you? You didn't actually wake me on purpose did you?"

He tossed the branches to the ground.

"What time is it?" She muttered still half asleep. "You know I had the strangest dream." Without bothering to discover whether or not he was curious about this dream she continued on. "I was dreaming that I was a ghost or something and I was flying down this street to this cemetery over and over… It was incredibly cold last night."

He nodded.

"I don't want you to get the wrong impression though, I don't really believe in ghosts." She flashed him a nervous smile, "I think it was just the cold… ah, yeah, maybe my body thought I was dying."

He stood. "No, you never gave me the impression that you did."

"I…" She hugged her sides for a moment and studied the forest floor. "What does that mean?"

The Winter Soldier looked at her. "You are too sensible for that."

She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, not that it really mattered of course. "I suppose I am-"

"You're a scientist. You're British. And you're wearing a very prim ensemble."

She bristled. "I'm not Hermione."

"Who?"

_Oh, that's right... he's old and he's been stuck in cryo-freeze most of that time… Someone topical to his childhood… um. _ "I'm not Wendy Darling."

A slow smile spread across his face. He looked almost like a different person. "Peter Pan?"

She smiled back at him. She'd been wondering how much of his memory was still intact. Apparently Peter Pan was still lodged away in his brain somewhere, something innocuous from his childhood.

"Have you read it?"

"Everyone's read it."

"Back when you were a child?"

He chuckled, but it sounded dark, almost like a growl. "You make it sound like it was a long time ago."

"It was."

He tilted his head to one side and took a long look at her. "We're about the same age."

"Yes," she said after a moment. "Yes, of course we are."

The Winter Soldier looked puzzled. But she decided this was probably a good time to end the conversation. She didn't want to tell him too much, cause him to have some sort of a meltdown, freak out and kill her or something. She did however want him to try to remember who he was, that he wasn't really Hydra at all, that he was Captain America's good friend and she figured if she gave it to him bit by bit maybe just maybe he'd come around.

She slipped off his jacket and handed it to him as they walked on. "Thank you again… Bucky."

He shot her an annoyed look but took the jacket and put it on. "No problem… Wendy."

Jemma resisted the urge to stomp her foot. If she had, she would have really looked like every storybook character she'd been compared to by Americans since she'd come to the U.S. "I just dress like this for work," she retorted.

"And…"

"And what?"

"And, what do you wear when you aren't working?"

"Well, not flats that's for certain. My God I have blisters…" She cringed, regretting it the moment she said it, it was not a picture she wanted him to imagine. Of course, what did that matter? She didn't care what The Winter Soldier thought of her completely destroyed feet… _damn flats_… Or the fact that after work she generally curled up in her sweats with a bowl of popcorn and Doctor Who. But, maybe she'd just omit that fact anyhow...

"I could carry you."

"Good heavens no. Why would you say that?"

"I'm strong."

She was in fact staring at his V shaped back when he said this. "Um, yes I know but I'm fine. I'll walk."

They continued working their way down through the forest for about three hours, Jemma wasn't quite certain why she'd ever thought it was cold now. She had her hair tied up in a haphazard ponytail and her vest dangled off of her elbows. Beads of sweat were rolling down her back, which was so uncomfortable…

"I'd give anything for a breeze right about now."

The Winter Soldier was still wearing the jacket. She wasn't sure how he could stand it. Maybe he didn't sweat like a regular human either.

"Aren't you dying in that thing?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you-" There, just past him she saw something. "Oh my gosh!"

He looked at her.

"Up ahead! Up ahead!" Jemma began to jog, though she was probably going a lot slower than she realized. She hadn't eaten anything in a while.

He caught her by the arm, a puzzled look on his face.

She pointed. "There's a road!"

The Winter Soldier released her and followed closely.

"Oh my God! There's a building!"

She raced down to what turned out to be a dirt road, and found a small structure. An unpainted, prefab building the kind that a truck probably just dropped there at some point, much like something you'd see at summer camp. Jemma walked up the steps and peered inside a small window at all the wonders within.

"It's some sort of Visitor's Center!"

The Winter Soldier climbed up behind her. His boots much noisier on the steps.

And then she spotted it. The one thing she never expected to see out there in the middle of nowhere. "There's a vending machine!" she squealed. She tried the door. It was locked. Not only was it locked but the doors were chained shut. "Why would someone do that? Isn't this here for hikers or Boy Scouts or something?"

He moved in close beside her, nudging her out of the way so he could look inside as well, then he took one door handle and ripped it completely off of the door. He forced the door open, and held it so that she could get inside.

She entered the building and immediately rushed to the vending machine. "It's actually full! Must be stocked up for the summer? Maybe this is part of a hiking trail? I wonder how far off we've wandered." She realized there was food just within reach and searched her pockets for change.

Jemma turned toward The Winter Soldier. "Do you have any change?-"

He smashed the glass with his bionic arm.

"Oh, right," she said dodging the falling shards of glass.

He reached inside and grabbed several Snickers bars, kicked some of the glass out of the way and sat down on the floor spreading the candy bars around him and proceeded to eat one so quickly he barely got the rapper off of it.

"It's really a pity they only have candy in here," she said. "No apple slices, no granola, and no dried fruit of any sort- Oh they have Toffifays, I can never find these things!"

"How can you be picky?"

She had eaten his last two meals, that's how she could be picky. She was hungry but not famished, he was most likely famished. "If you eat that too quickly you're going to be sick."

He met her eyes and continued eating defiantly.

Jemma turned to the right, there was a hallway. Clasping the Toffifay she turned the corner and found a unisex restroom, she went inside and tried the water. It worked, it was tepid but, it was water, it would do.

"Bucky! Guess what?" She smiled gleefully into a warped mirror.

"What?" He was directly behind her.

Jemma put a hand to her heart and steadied herself. "You have to stop doing that."

"Sorry."

She sighed, and laughed a little at herself. "Look it's a loo."

He nodded and let himself out.

"Seriously? You aren't excited about this?" She poked her head out the door. "There's running water and toilet paper and everything, we can wash."

"You go ahead. I'll wait out here."

She smiled. "All right, I will. I'm desperate to-" _Omit anything that has to do with foul body odor. _"-wash."

He stared at her.

"Right well, I'd think you would at least be happy to wash the chocolate off your hands."

As she let the door shut she saw him look down at his hands.

She turned back to the sink and sighed._ Ah yes, running water… _It had been a while since she'd seen real plumbing, and actually she hadn't expected to see it so soon. It seemed so odd that there would be a 'Visitor's Center' so close to Hydra, unless… it was their visitor center? That would be weird. Nah, it was probably just an innocent structure built in the wilderness with hikers in mind. Of course if hikers came out there wouldn't some of them climb right up where that Hydra building was? Maybe they didn't think anything of it, maybe they just kept on climbing assuming it was a power station or something?

She took off her shirt and washed off the sweat.

After a few minutes she exited the restroom feeling cooler, and less sticky. She moved out into the vending machine area where The Winter Soldier was spread out on the floor.

"Get your fill of chocolate?"

His eyes flicked up at her, dark. Irritated.

She motioned back at the restroom. "Loo's all yours."

"Thanks." The Winter Soldier got up slowly wiping his hands on his pants, and headed down the hall and toward the restroom.

Jemma took off her vest, made it into a sack-like bag and filled it with candy bars from the vending machine. "Definitely better than killing a rabbit."

The water was running in the restroom. The Winter Soldier was actually taking kind of a long time, he must've decided to wash his hair or something. Bored and curious she turned to the left and walked down a short hall. At the very end were brochures for local fun activities and… a payphone.

"Oh my gosh! A phone!" She picked up the receiver, there was a dial tone. All was suddenly right with the world. She had never used one of those oldtimey payphones before and wasn't quite sure how the thing worked but apparently change was necessary to make it work as well. She didn't have change. But, dialing 0 might work even without money! She could call the operator and see about making a collect call to Coulson. She wished she could see his face when he got that phone call.

The Winter Soldier appeared in the hallway, his dark visage in stark contrast with the vast whiteness of the interior of the building.

She beamed at him. "Look at this a payphone! You never see these things anymore." Jemma hit 0 quickly-

But The Winter Soldier was faster. He ripped the receiver out of her hands and completely off the phone, then turned on her. "No."

She stumbled backward holding a bruised hand. "What are you doing? I need to call my friends."

He stared at her from behind dripping wet bangs. "I can't let you do that."

"W, what?"

"I have to get you back to the CXD-23 Airborne Mobile Command Station."

She felt her heart pounding. She'd never once called _The Bus _by its formal name. "What do you mean?"

"You have to take me there Jemma."

"Back to my base? Why?"

"Agent Phillip Coulson is your supervisor there isn't he? I need to find him."

Her eyes widened. "Oh my God. Is he your target? So, I wasn't so worthless after all? The escape… you saving me? That wasn't real." She struggled, "that explains why you hardly damaged anything there. I mean here, you were fine with destroying doors, and smashing vending machines but at Hydra, at Hydra… you didn't break any doors, as a matter of fact, you couldn't even force one door open." She looked at him incredulous. "I've been so stupid. All this time we were I thought… I thought we were… becoming friends?"

His eyes refocused on hers. "You're my mission."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Winter Soldier. I do not own Jemma Simmons. I do not own anything that has to do with the Marvel Universe. I just write within their perimeters.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"_There'll be no better time_

_There'll be no better way_

_There'll be no better day to save me_

_Save me"_

_Weeping Willow by The Verve_

* * *

"Why do you need me to get you back there? Doesn't Hydra know where my base is?"

His face was impassive.

"They don't," her voice wavered. She was his only way to Coulson. But, what if she didn't help him? "I, I'll never help you."

"Yes, you will."

"After all of this…" Jemma threw her hands into the air. "After you've been helping me when I was sick and when I was cold, after all that you're just going to shoot me?"

A look of alarm passed over his face. "Coulson is my target, not you."

"And what will you do if I don't help you?" she gasped.

He glanced around from left to right, and punched a wall with his metal arm suddenly. Frustrated. Then he stepped forward, and Jemma stepped away from him matching his pace.

The Winter Soldier clamped down on her shoulder with this bionic hand. He had a firm but not painful grip on her, which she was grateful for. Her heart was pounding as he turned her toward the door, and guided her to the exit.

"W, wait!" She reached to one side and picked up her vest, which she'd filled full of candy bars, and glanced up at him nervously.

After she had it he pushed her forward out the door.

"Follow the road," he said.

They couldn't be far from civilization now, there were telephone poles connected up to the Visitor Center, which were strung every so often down the dirt road in front of them. Of course now getting back into society was not something she really wanted to do. If anyone saw them walking together it was going to look pretty suspicious and if there was any trouble with locals she assumed The Winter Soldier would not hesitate to kill them. But, she wasn't sure how she could keep him from a town either.

Sadly, she wondered if Coulson had any idea where she was. If they were looking for her. If only she'd managed to just get a call to them before The Winter Soldier had ripped the phone into pieces. They would've known it was her and tracking her would be a snap for Skye.

Jemma walked down the road, it sloped downward noticeably, down and down and down… The forest was completely cut back in this area, trees cut down for the telephone line and power for the Visitor's Center. The one they'd just practically destroyed. _Stupid Winter Soldier._ She had tied the bundle of snacks onto one of the belt loops of her slacks. It was now just bouncing her in the thigh as she walked and in the heat, most likely every single candy bar was a gooey chocolate mess.

* * *

It had been a good two hours since leaving the Visitor's Center. They walked along in silence. He was trailing behind her and this march down the mountain was much more miserable than it had been hours earlier when she thought she was free. The temperature was starting to dip and the sound of frogs peeping was drifting over the area. It was a gentle summer sound, something she usually liked, but which felt odd now that she was not free. Now it felt more like she envied the frogs. They were totally enjoying themselves, while she was not. She was getting hungry and cold. God, she was tired of wearing the same clothes… and yet she was in no hurry to find a town now. Somehow she was going to have to try to trick The Winter Soldier, lead him somewhere else, and that thought scared her. Because she didn't particularly want to be killed, but she wasn't sure what other choice she had. Lead him to Coulson? Jeopardize the team?

"Why aren't you talking?" The Winter Soldier walked up alongside her.

"W, what do you mean?"

He seemed genuinely confused. "Why aren't you talking to me?"

_Why aren't I? What? Why in the world would I want to?! _But she settled on; "Why, I don't know, perhaps because you work for Hydra and you're forcing me to take you to my boss so that you can kill him?" She rounded on him. "And besides, my conversation isn't particularly witty anyhow. I know this because I now know every single thing you've said to me from the very beginning has been a lie!" She folded her arms annoyed and muttered, "'best conversation I've had in a long time'… seriously. I can't believe I bought that line."

His brows furrowed and he looked down as if her commentary actually pained him. "That was the truth."

He picked up his pace and scouted down the road ahead of her putting himself a car's length ahead of her.

For some stupid reason she felt a pang of guilt as she watched him walking away from her. Somewhere inside of him was Bucky Barnes. If only she could get to that person, make him remember… Why didn't he remember? Steve Rogers had believed he had pulled him out of the water, saved his life… it said as much in the file Coulson had. So didn't that mean he'd remembered something? Did he just go right back to Hydra? That didn't seem likely. Had they put him back into cyro-freeze? Erased his memory somehow?

She shivered. It was May. Why was it so cold at night here? She wondered where they were. What country she was in. Of course, if she'd taken half a moment to look at one of those brochures back at the Visitor's Center she would've known where they were, or at least what language people spoke around here.

The Winter Soldier moved off the road and into a small thicket off to the left, and then he came back out again and waited for her to get to him.

"We'll camp here."

Robotically Jemma walked into the wooded area. About the last thing she wanted to do was spend another night next to him, especially now that she knew he wasn't helping her at all. In fact, just the opposite. She sat down on the damp ground feeling miserable.

He sat across from her. They stared at each other.

She crossed her legs and her arms, trying to keep warm and watched the sunset. It was pink and orange and really quite beautiful, weirdly beautiful considering it was occurring over The Winter Soldier's head and she could sort of see his silhouette as she was trying hard to pay attention to anything else. He was just sitting there staring.

He got up and took off his jacket. "You're cold."

She shot him an irritated look. "I don't want your jacket."

"Take it."

"I'd rather freeze to death."

He didn't move for several moments. His expression confused, searching… sad, and then he turned, put the jacket back on and sat back down.

Jemma pulled out her bag of candy bars, attempting to read the labels in the last dying embers of sunlight. After a moment of rooting around for something good, she found one she liked, ripped it open and began to eat it in front of The Winter Soldier.

He watched her eat it. Forlorn. His face working, as if he were struggling with a hundred things that were crossing his mind at the same time. "Can I have one?" he asked softly.

She met his eyes, she hadn't wanted to, she tried to ignore him but it was impossible. "All right," she said, reached in without looking, snatched something from the bag and tossed it at him.

He tore off the paper and began to eat it in silence.

Jemma finished hers, still hungry but she couldn't eat the entire bag of candy bars in one evening, she had to conserve. She stowed it off to one side, turned away from The Winter Soldier and laid down on the cold ground. She still had that knife she'd taken from his boot the night before, still hidden, and that she slowly eased out of her sock and pulled close to her chest.

It was cold. Colder than the previous night had been. She lay on her side and curled her body into the fetal position for warmth. Though her body was completely exhausted from all the walking she'd been doing outside in the fresh air, she was so cold she couldn't seem to relax enough to fall asleep. She should've seen it coming, the sky above was clear, and that could only mean the night would be brutal. She was staring off into the trees, it was impossibly dark, and quiet with the exception of a frog chirping occasionally or an animal in the distance screeching or making some odd noise. It had been possibly 45 minutes to an hour that she was laying there, quietly, trying her best to fall asleep and she'd finally started to succumb to rest of a sort. The exhaustion was taking her, but every couple of minutes she'd wake up shivering violently. When she heard something. Pine needles snapping, being crushed under heavy boots. The Winter Soldier must've been up walking around behind her.

As she listened she realized the sound of crunching pine needles was getting nearer and nearer until he was right behind her. Hovering.

Jemma was completely awake now. She grasped the knife tightly.

It had been at least a full minute. He hadn't moved. What was he doing? She could hear the slight metallic sound of his bionic arm moving, and the soft crushing of pine needles, as if he'd shifted his balance.

He knelt down behind her. And then he lay down on the ground, his body occasionally making contact with hers much to her horror. His armor creaked as he arranged himself. He eased up against her slowly.

She felt his body pressed flush against hers. His breath warm against the back of her neck. _Oh my God…_

Panic was rising within her. What was he thinking? If he was planning on hurting her now, she had no way to stop him save that one steak knife and she couldn't imagine how much help that was really going to be against an Asset like him. She couldn't seem to silence her breathing, which was now rapid and occasionally gasping.

He draped his human arm over her shoulder and let his hand settle on the ground near her collarbone.

And then all movement ceased except for the slow rise and fall of his chest which was pressed up against her back.

Jemma remained rigid for several minutes, her body prone and stuck in an uncomfortable position before she realized that he must have gone to sleep. He was apparently not planning on doing anything untoward while she was lying there. She was no longer feeling terrified, instead she began to feel uncomfortable and a little trapped. His arm was heavy over her body, she tried to move her head but he was lying on her hair. His breath was deep and even and warm on her neck, which actually made her feel more relaxed… he was warm. Her shivering began to stop, and after a few minutes she felt herself begin to calm down. He smelled surprisingly good for someone who was wearing full armor and had been walking all day in it. He smelled of aftershave, gunpowder and leather. And for some reason she sort of liked it.

She let the knife fall to the ground and pulled his arm absently as if it was a blanket she was trying to burrow into. He drew up closer, snuggling with her. Jemma drifted off to sleep, her body melded into his.

* * *

"Bucky, Bucky Barnes…"

Jemma woke up, groggy, it was pitch dark, was someone talking to her? Where was she?

A soft voice mumbled into her ear, "Sergeant… 32, 55… 72…41…"

"Hmm?" She tried to move but something warm and heavy was wrapped around her and then she remembered where she was.

"Bucky Barnes…" Lips grazed her ear.

The Winter Soldier was talking in his sleep she surmised after she came to. So part of him did remember.

"No…" he said suddenly agitated. "No… don't." His voice was perfectly clear, frightened and absolutely heartbreaking. He tightened his grip on her and threw one leg over her legs pinning them to the ground.

She gasped, now crushed against him.

Jemma felt for his hand uncertainly and stroked it. "It's all right Bucky."

"Mmph…"

"Everything's going to be okay."

His fingers clasped for hers clumsy, his arm slackened. And she felt him falling back to sleep, his face nuzzled into to crook of her neck…


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I am borrowing the Marvel Universe to use for my personal whim. I own none of this and lay claim only to my own personal genius.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Jemma nestled deeper under the heavy blankets. It felt chilly in her room, but the bed was warm and cozy.

Someone sighed.

It must have been her. She probably went back to sleep for a second and then woke herself up with the sound of her own sigh.

The blankets squeezed her body.

_Huh? That was weird…_

Then the blankets rolled away from her, even as she grasped them, trying to pull them back. Jemma flipped over onto her other side and found herself with her arm now wrapped around The Winter Soldier's torso.

"Oh!"

His eyes flew open meeting hers instantly.

Jemma back paddled away from him.

He sat up looking like a boy who had just been caught doing something he was not supposed to be doing. "You were shivering," he said softly. "Nothing, nothing happened."

"Except that you crawled, essentially, into bed with me."

He lowered his eyes.

"I told you that I would rather freeze to death." She attempted to button up nonexistent top buttons.

"You wouldn't want that," he said darkly.

She touched her collarbone absently. That was where he'd been holding her, pressing her tightly against his strong, muscular chest… When she glanced down at him she noticed he was staring at her. She dropped her hand immediately. What had he been thinking? Possibly the same thing she was thinking? Certainly not that she was remotely attractive in any way. Good heavens no, that wouldn't be possible. She was just a pasty S.H.I.E.L.D. nerd everyone knew that.

"You should have asked me," she said finally.

"You would've said 'no'."

"You're probably right Bucky, and that's what personal boundaries are all about. Sometimes you don't get permission to cross them."

He turned away from her, his face sullen and stood. "Bucky..."

"That's right Bucky Barnes, Sergeant, serial number 32, 55 something, something?"

His eyes widened. "What?"

She sighed, exasperated, "I said- oh, never mind."

The Winter Soldier seemed perplexed. He shook his head as if trying to shake something unpleasant off and took a few steps down toward the dirt road.

"Why did you say that?" he asked turning back around.

Jemma gathered up her bag of candy bars and marched toward him. "Because you talk in your sleep." She moved past him, and began their trek down the mountainside anew.

* * *

It was around noon, judging by the location of the sun in the sky, that something miraculous occurred. The road began to flatten out. They were exiting the mountain and about to find themselves back in modern civilization.

Jemma wasn't certain whether to cheer or worry about all of the possible murders that The Winter Soldier was going to commit if anyone got too nosy.

They walked the dirt road in silence.

The forest became denser on the road and it started to wind downward again, and it branched out in three directions. The Winter Soldier insisted on staying on the main road, and as they followed they came upon a little cabin.

It stood empty. No cars of any sort in the little gravel driveway.

The Winter Soldier wandered off the road and into the overgrown yard.

It was a perfectly adorable little cabin, obviously no one had set foot in it in months, but it was fairly new with a wind chime dangling from the porch, and all sorts of pots and pans and saws and things hanging on the wall around the front door. It looked quaint. Obviously someone wanted it to look rustic but it was also so obviously built by some construction company that it had no real rustic authenticity.

She wondered if there was any food inside. Normally the idea of breaking into someone's house to steal food never crossed her mind but right now, after a couple days of eating nothing but an occasional candy bar she was beginning to think that way.

He peered through the front window.

Jemma studied some of the items on the outer wall. A large washtub and rusty metal washboard, a saw for cutting clean through trees… which the people who lived here undoubtly never used. She pointed at it and started to make a remark about it being rustic when she knocked into the washtub.

The large metal washtub fell suddenly taking the washboard down with it. For some silly reason, reflex maybe, Jemma attempted to catch everything as it came tumbling down. It all landed in a massive clatter on the porch.

At first she felt nothing. Just stupid mostly because she'd made so much noise but then as she moved to pick up the tub she noticed there was blood.

"Wha-"

There was a lot of blood.

"Oh my gosh," she said looking down at her hand. There was blood gushing from it.

The Winter Soldier looked at her.

She clamped her right hand over her left to staunch it. "I need something to use for a bandage."

He went over to the door, ripped it off its hinges and walked inside.

Jemma followed.

The place was fully furnished, sofas, rugs, a fireplace, TV… just waiting for the owners to return and dust.

There was a bang and crash of things hitting the floor as The Winter Soldier pulled the kitchen drawers out and searched them.

What she really needed was to find the bathroom, there might be something in there like gauze or a hand towel, anything really. The first room she found was a small bedroom with bunk beds, and a small bookcase… _nope. _The next room was clearly a master bedroom, with a double bed frame and a large window with a view of well… woods. Not a great view really.

She kept moving, she was walking in a circle headed right back into the kitchen it looked like, bleeding all over the floor and door handles on her way through the place.

The Winter Soldier nearly ran into her. "Did you find anything?"

"No. I'm afraid I'm making a terrible mess of this lovely cabin."

They were in a narrow hallway with two doors. He opened up the first one, it turned out to be a small linen closet that contained a few cleaning supplies. He turned to the second door and it didn't give.

"I could force it." He faced her and said softly, "give me my knife."

"W, what… do you mean?" _Yes, now was the perfect time to take a crack at lying. Bleeding all over the floor, in need of medical assistance… _"What… knife?"

"The one you took from me the other night."

She glanced down at her foot effectively giving away the place where she'd hidden it. "H, how did you know?"

"I wasn't asleep."

"What?... No but, yes you were."

His eyes stared into hers, his expression blank.

She felt like a fly caught in a spider's web. That meant he had just allowed her to take his only weapon. He must've felt extremely confident that no matter what she was no threat to him, otherwise he wouldn't have let it happen in the first place. "Well why… why did you- you just let me take it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"So you could protect yourself," he said.

From him? She had no idea what he meant. She just knelt down and pulled the knife from her sock and handed it to him nervously.

He took it without further comment, jimmied the door open and let her inside. It was indeed, a small bathroom with a window that looked out at the driveway.

She quickly found an emergency medical kit under the sink.

"Why didn't you just tear the door off the wall?" she asked as she held her hand under the faucet.

"Because, it's a bathroom and I thought that you would appreciate the door being attached."

"Oh." _Well, that was…_ _thoughtful_, she supposed grudgingly. She sighed, and looked down at the wound she'd taken under completely ridiculous circumstances.

"How bad is it?"

She examined it, under the painful water washing over it. And now, she decided she'd make one final daring attempt at lying, because she was not going to take The Winter Soldier back to The Bus. She was not going to let him kill Coulson. "Well, it's a deep laceration. It will require stitches."

"Stitches?"

She turned and thrust her injured hand at him enthusiastically, "yes. If you look closely you can probably see the yellow fatty tissue, just there. Do you see it?"

He stared at her finger. It was oozing blood.

"I can sew it up. I just need a needle and thread," she said with a forced smile. "And some Lidocaine if any can be found… doubtful, but you never know."

"You're going to sew your own wound?"

Jemma tore open a bandage from the medical kit and quickly covered up the wound. "Oh, yes. It will be fine. I have a license to perform actual surgery so how hard can this be right?" Her tone was light but full of uncertainty.

He rifled through the medical kit but found only some paper tape, gauze and several sterile bandages. "I'll look in the other rooms."

"Right. Thank you."

He was halfway out the door when she said it. He paused momentarily, then continued on his way to the kitchen area.

As soon as he'd gone she wrapped the bandage around her finger with tape, hurriedly closed the door and sped to the window. Jemma was delighted to discover that probably due to the cabin being a fairly new structure, she didn't have to fight with the window at all, and it slid open with ease.

She climbed up onto the toilet seat and out the window without a hitch. Terrified, she ran down the driveway, and down the winding road faster than she'd ever run in her life. If she could get to another cabin she would most likely find another phone and be able to phone the team for help.

Jemma rounded a curve, there was cleared area for a cabin but nothing had been built yet. She continued on, only a quarter of a mile from the cabin she'd just escaped from. She ran on, down a steep incline, the woods grew thicker, there didn't seem to be any more cabins, just one that had collapsed in on itself ages ago. She continued, there was a pain in her side. She cursed herself for spending so much time in the lab and not enough in the gym. A mile? This had probably only been a mile and already she was in pain.

Suddenly the forest opened up before her, she could make out a paved road up ahead crossing the dirt one. _Oh my goodness yes! Civilization! Just a little further… Just a little faster._

She raced down to the pavement. It was a sliver of a road, gray and cracked as if it hadn't been worked on in a while but it was a step closer to finding a house, a town... anything that might have a phone or a car or some way to get help.

Jemma continued on, running hard. Her chest beginning to feel like it might explode.

There was a wide open spans before her. She'd left the forest behind her completely now, this area had been cleared and there down one side of the mountain was a vineyard. She turned into it. It seemed to go on for acres but at the bottom, must be a distillery, a store/restaurant something- people. The running here was a little easier, it was downhill and the ground was smoother.

There was an odd noise. Not just the sound of her footfalls, or her loud panting… there was something metallic.

She looked over her shoulder.

The Winter Soldier.

He rounded the end of the row she was running down. He was a silhouette behind her in the distance, but not for long. He made eye contact and moved forward, fast. He looked angry.

_Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. _

She was nearly completely out of breath. She should've taken a minute to hide rather than try to out run him but now it was too late. He'd found her.

An entire row of grape vines collapsed beside her. He was apparently not too happy with this latest development.

Before she could think too long on the fallen grape vines, he had her. Tackled her to the ground, she couldn't even scream it happened so fast, and flipped her onto her back.

She lay under him exhausted, squirming, trying to slip away but he caught her wrists easily, captured her hands over her head and forced them to the ground.

"You're my mission," he growled.

"Please…" she said, "please… you don't want to do this. Phil Coulson is a good man. You're Bucky Barnes. You're a good man."

"Shut up, shut up stop calling me that!"

Jemma pulled away from him, as far as she possibly could, burying her head deep into the grass.

He stared down at her, his expression going from pure rage, to confusion, to sorrow and then finally as he looked into her eyes to something else entirely. His face softened.

She panted, but he didn't seem winded at all, actually he seemed still. Very still. His pale eyes lingered on hers but slowly moved over her mouth, and then returned again to meet her eyes.

For some reason she didn't feel frightened anymore. She felt a little confused… he was holding her down, powerful on top of her… he was The Winter Soldier. He was Hydra; Captain America's match in a fight… and yet she wasn't afraid. He had very blue eyes… and as he inched in closer to her, a look of confused wonder in them, she wanted him to kiss her more than she'd ever wanted anyone to kiss her in her life.

His lips parted, he exhaled a warm breath against her skin… oh, he was so close. His body heavy on hers, his legs tangled in her legs. She felt his dark hair brush her skin, and then he pressed the side of his cheek against hers and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

He released her hands from the tight grip he'd had on them, holding her down with only the weight of his body.

"Is your hand all right?" he whispered into her ear.

She swallowed, her voice pitched. "It doesn't need stitches."

"I know."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Just borrowing it all from the Marvel Universe. I own nothing but my own genius.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

It was mid-afternoon by the time they'd finally walked into a town. 'Greensville; Home of little league soccer team _Tiny Tigers_; pop. 3,270'. They were in the U.S.

The Winter Soldier had been very quiet ever since they'd left the vineyard. Eerily so. Jemma hadn't ventured to ask what he was thinking. She supposed he didn't trust her very much anymore, so on that score they were even.

She had been walking behind him ever since they had gotten back on their feet, followed the path she'd been taking cutting through someone's vineyard and came out on a road at the bottom of it. After a couple miles it had taken them into Greensville. Jemma had been worried that once they came into a town they would have trouble, that someone would see them or say something to them and The Winter Soldier would end up killing people.

As they entered the town, she noticed the crowd. There were people in lawn chairs lining the street. And the music of a marching band began to float toward them.

"There's a parade," she said to The Winter Soldier's back.

He didn't seem to hear her.

Most of the people on the sidelines were carrying small American flags, and then she saw a large banner announcing a 'Memorial Day' parade.

The Winter Soldier sauntered through the multitude with ease. It was crowded though… this could be a great opportunity to get away-

He turned around and looked right at her face.

Jemma frowned. It was as if he knew she'd be considering that very same possibility.

He reached back and took her left hand in his right, lacing his fingers into hers. She knew he was only doing this so that she would not attempt another escape while they were in this crowd of civilians but she stared down at his hand, fingers laced into hers, incredulously anyhow. For some reason, she felt heat rising up her neck and into her face.

_ Oh my God, I'm not blushing am I? _She snuck a quick look at him and he saw her looking. _Damn. _This was so messed up. She couldn't believe she'd just been lying under him in the grass a scant couple hours back. She couldn't believe how much she'd wanted him to kiss her... him, The Winter Soldier. And for one fleeting moment she thought he had been feeling the same, she thought… the way he was staring down at her mouth… the way he was moving… _Yes, he was going to kiss me. I mean, honestly he'd been sleeping with me in his arms for goodness sake, the night before. Obviously he was attracted or had some feelings or something…_ but then, he didn't follow through. Which left her conflicted. Both feeling rejected and relieved. Relieved because this was an incredibly mixed up situation and he was still trying to use her to get to Coulson… she wondered if he had actually considered this when he chose not to kiss her. Or, maybe he just decided she wasn't very attractive… Damn low self-esteem.

She sighed.

A float with a queen and her court passed them and then, just hidden behind it a small troop of soldiers marching, carrying the American flag and the POW flag.

The Winter Soldier stopped.

A couple soldiers were holding a banner for a local Veteran's Legion. Members of several wars were grouped in different sections, wearing their old uniforms.

The Winter Soldier didn't move.

Jemma said something to him but his expression was of shock and he didn't seem to hear.

A convertible drove slowly behind the group: VETERANS of FOREIGN WARS WWII VETS Inside was one man who looked to be in his mid-nineties.

"He's so old…" The Winter Soldier muttered. "Why would they let him in the military at his age?"

"W, what do you mean?"

He met her eyes and half smiled, a weird sort of confused smile and then turned back toward the parade again. At the soldiers marching past.

"That flag is wrong."

Jemma said as she watched him. "What's wrong with it? It seems perfectly fine to me."

"There are too many stars."

"Hmm… 50 stars for the 50 states. It's been that way as long as I've lived over here."

"Forty-eight," he said absently.

"I think you're forgetting about Alaska and Hawaii."

He searched the faces in the crowd as if he was looking for some answer. "Am I?..."

An elementary school band followed the soldiers, they were playing slightly off key but looked fairly adorable wearing T-shirts and jeans in their school's colors.

The Winter Soldier turned away from this, and pulled her along with him. They continued their hike through town until they were past the people in lawn chairs and down the street. Much to Jemma's dismay they headed toward a gas station/convenience store. It was open and there were teenagers hanging around outside eating Icees.

He hesitated. She knew what he wanted, what they both wanted… food, badly.

"It's too busy," she gasped. If only either of them had money on them.

He scanned the area, almost robotically and then continued back on the route they'd been following. As they continued on they came upon several locally owned shops, an antique shop, tattoo parlor, coffee shop and a tavern with a closed sign in the window. Was it a Sunday?

Jemma actually pointed to it. Now she was not only a prisoner, but a prisoner who was aiding the man who was holding her prisoner. The team would definitely insist she seek psychiatric help, if she ever got back, for Stockholm Syndrome. He took her down an alley and around the back of 'Nick's' the tavern in question.

There was a small parking lot in the back but no one was around- all enjoying their Memorial Day festivities. He tore the back door off its hinges and walked into the darkened room. It smelled of spilled beer and fish fry.

They went behind the bar and into the kitchen. Helping themselves to anything that happened to be in the refrigerator, a display of very expensive little bags of chips, pickles and bottles of beer. The two of them brought their findings out into the main room, sat down at a table, as if they were on a date, and gobbled down the food.

"I could really go for a hot shower right about now," she said.

He met her eyes.

* * *

It took them about thirty minutes tops to find a housing track that had apparently been constructed just outside the bustling town of Greensville. The Winter Soldier still held her hand tight as he walked her toward a house that looked every bit the same as the other twenty houses in this track, just take one cookie-cutter and stamp them all out. He veered toward it. It had a large "Open House May 22 & 23; 1-4pm" sign in the yard.

He released her, trudged up the steps to the front porch and removed the front door, then turned back to her, motioning her forward.

Once inside he sort of propped the front door back on.

Jemma wandered into the place. This was a far cry from that cabin they'd spent a scant few minutes in. It was pretty luxurious. Fully furnished and decorated to make people see how one of the other houses might look if they decided to move in. Most of it was white. White rugs and a powder blue sofa. It had one of those open floor plans that are so popular, so that the kitchen, dining room and living room spilled over into each other.

She glanced back at The Winter Soldier who was staring at something hanging from the kitchen wall, maybe a calendar, and then went deeper into the house looking for the bathroom. Hoping for a hot shower.

It was a rather large structure. She passed through the dining room and found the loo, but no shower. A small closet, a small room with some bookcases, a desk, fake laptop and a phone. Curious, she drew closer, the laptop might have been fake but the landline was not. She wanted to rush to that phone and check for a dial tone but she dreaded to think what The Winter Soldier would do if he caught her attempting a third escape.

Jemma glanced down at her wrists, they were bruised with his fingerprints, more so on her right hand where his metal hand had bared down a little more roughly when he tackled her.

Nervously, she crept to the phone. The beautiful hardwood floor creaking under her broken flats. She sucked in her breath and lifted the receiver, looking back toward the open door furtively. So far so good, no one had ripped the phone out of her hand.

There was a dial tone. Miracle. She punched in Coulson's number quickly, too quickly, she misdialed. _Bloody hell. Calm down Jemma. All you need to do is get the phone to dial, even if you can't talk Skye will track you. _Taking a breath she dialed again, a little more steadily.

Someone picked up after two rings. "Coulson."

"Oh my God, Sir, I can't believe I'm talking to you," she managed to get out in a strangled whisper. Just hearing his voice flooded her with a sudden remembrance of warm, comforting normality.

"Simmons?" He sounded shocked. "Where are you?"

"I'm in Greensville… I don't know what state, but I'm in the U.S. In a housing track… in a, a house that's for sale."

"Can you wait there? I'll come get you."

"No! That's too dangerous. I'm with The Winter Soldier. He's using me to get to you. You're his target."

"The Winter Soldier?" He said surprised. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." Her voice came out a bit more pitched than she'd expected, perhaps this ordeal was wearing on her more than she had thought. "He hasn't hurt me."

"You stay there if you can. Don't hang up the phone, I'm on my way."

"No, Sir, don't. He'll kill you." She stared out the window at the magnolia tree swaying in the breeze, eyes buffering over a can of pens on the desk, a fake plant hanging beside the corner of the window and The Winter Soldier standing directly behind her.

She dropped the phone, shaking so hard she could no longer hold it. "Oh!" Jemma backed up against the wall.

He followed the phone as it bounced on the hardwood floor, and then lifted his eyes, dark under his long bangs.

She had just led Coulson to his death.

He set a calendar down on the desk in front of her. "What is this?"

"A, a wall calendar?" she said trying hard to suck in air without seeming to be anything less than utterly and completely composed.

"A mock up? A future home design? Like… Howard Stark's expos?"

"H, Howard Stark? You mean Tony Stark don't you?"

"Who's Tony?"

"Howard Stark's son. You know Iron Man, Stark Enterprises?"

"Huh," he sort of laughed and acknowledged the calendar sitting on the table. "But… 2014?" His brows furrowed, a pained expression crossed his face. "Did you call Coulson?"

"Uh…" she pressed herself back up against the wall as he met her with a cold stare. "Bucky?" she ventured.

He flinched. "Is he coming here?"

"No! No, definitely not."

He winced and held the side of his head as if in pain.

"Are you all right?"

He took a couple steps nearer. "Jemma…" And leaned in toward her.

Having him so close was beyond confusing to her. She was overwhelmed with an urge to be closer to him, but also she was afraid… he seemed to be coming apart.

"Where am I?" his voice was thick with tears.

"You're in America. In a house in a small town called Greensville. It's May 26, 2014 I think, and they're celebrating Memorial Day a little early this year." She tried to keep her voice smooth and even.

He sighed. "I don't… understand…"

"It's going to be okay Bucky."

"No!" He slammed the wall with his metal fist.

She winced.

"Just go," he said softly.

"What?"

He stepped away from her, his eyes darting around from the silk plant, to the fake laptop.

She moved toward him imploringly. "Let me help you."

He raked his fingers through his hair. "This is wrong… this is all wrong…"

Jemma's arms were outstretched, trying desperately to reach out to him. To make him understand.

The Winter Soldier's eyes fell to the bruises on her wrists and he froze. "I hurt you."

"It doesn't really hurt. Just a bruise really."

He moaned.

"Bucky…"

He shook his head, his mouth twisting. "No. That's not me."

"But it is. You're Bucky Barnes-"

"Jemma," he grabbed her with both hands on her upper arms, and faced her. He seemed so lost, drowning, looking to her as a lifeline. "I can't do this mission. I don't even know why I'm supposed to do it…"

"Hydra is forcing you to do it."

He nodded slowly but didn't seem to fully comprehend.

"Come with me. I can help you."

His eyes lingered on her for a moment, and then he broke away. "No."

"Bucky…"

The Winter Soldier took several steps backward into the hall, turned and walked out.

Jemma ran after him. "Bucky!"

He was already outside.

She raced to the front door. "Bucky, don't leave!"

* * *

An hour passed. The Winter Soldier had not returned. He was gone. The house was so quiet, so cool and so empty… Jemma hadn't felt so alone in a very long time. He had been with her ever since she'd been captured by Hydra. And now, she had no idea what to think. She shouldn't be missing him, she knew she shouldn't… but she was.

Before she knew it, Lola appeared outside the house. Jemma raced outside.

Coulson and May were sitting in the front seats.

"Jemma, get in," Coulson said. "Where's The Winter Soldier?" Both he and May were loading their guns.

"He… left…" She could hear herself say it, she sounded sort of devastated, she didn't know why.

"Are you sure?"

"He said he wasn't going to finish this mission and he left. I think that he was starting to remember… that he was Bucky Barnes."

Coulson turned in his seat, as the car lifted off the ground. "I'm not going to ask you how you know about The Winter Soldier."

"No, we'll debrief you when we get back," May acknowledged.

"Oh, well, that's… a relief."

"Fasten your seatbelt."

Jemma fiddled with the seatbelt haphazardly, her mind was on other things, like trying to see The Winter Soldier from the sky while they flew out of the U.S. and into Canada.

* * *

**In an Underground Bunker somewhere in the Canadian Wilderness...**

Jemma sat in alone in one of the rooms Eric Koeing had ushered her to for a debriefing with himself and Coulson. She stared up at the photo/faux window of the nighttime skyline of NYC. It was apparently night. The Debriefing had finished with her summing up of the events that had transpired over the last few days. Leaving out a few things, like The Winter Soldier cuddling up with her, or her longing to be kissed by him, or being lead through a parade crowd by the hand as if they were a couple enjoying a day out together. Mostly she stuck to the facts. She was imprisoned, she was part of his mission to get to Coulson, (which Coulson seemed to think might be directly related to Garrett), the endless trek down the mountain and her belief that The Winter Soldier had been brainwashed at Hydra's hands again, and was now coming out of it.

She told them she'd been trying to coax him back, to get him back to help him, but that she was a little afraid he'd fly off the handle and try to kill Coulson.

They'd left to have a conference and told her they'd send in the rest of the team.

She needed a shower, water, a real dinner, fresh clothes, sleep on a mattress… but all she was really thinking about was him. What had happened to him? Where did he go? Did he come back looking for her? Was he okay? Was he apprehended by Hydra again? God, she hoped not.

"Jemma!" Skye rushed in, followed by Fitz, Agent Triplett and May.

Jemma found herself caught up in a perfumed hug. "Are you okay?" Skye asked. As soon as Skye released her Fitz practically threw himself at her, crushing her in a great bear hug.

And it hurt.

"Ow…" she whimpered.

He looked down at her. At what little skin was showing, her neck, and her hands were marked lightly with bruises. "You're awfully banged up. He didn't harm you did he?"

"Well, no." She forced a little smile. "We were camping out in the wilderness for quite a while, you're bound to get a little 'banged up' doing that."

"That cut on your finger-"

"Oh right." She looked down at the hasty bandage she'd wrapped it with. "I did that when a washboard fell off a wall onto my hand, it's nothing really, won't even require stitches." Jemma fell silent, her smile drooping… _I know. _ The Winter Soldier's body pinning her to the ground. His lips against her ear, whispering with hot breath into it…

Coulson was suddenly next to her, apparently he'd finished up his meeting with Eric, he held up her arm. "And those bruises? Which are clearly hand prints?"

"Ah, those are from The Winter Soldier."

"What?!" Fitz's eyes widened.

"Oh, when I was wrestling him."

"You were wrestling The Winter Soldier?!" Fitz demanded. Yes, he also seemed to remember that file the two of them had stumbled upon, the one they weren't supposed to have seen, in Coulson's desk.

"You're lucky to be alive," May remarked.

She pulled her arm back. "He didn't hurt me."

Fitz was hovering over her protectively, a little over protectively. "You're covered in bumps and bruises and he didn't mean to hurt you?"

Much to her surprise Coulson agreed with her. "She's right Fitz. He could've really injured her to get his point across if he'd wanted. For some reason, he didn't want to."

She blushed. "Honestly Fitz I'm much more concerned about deer ticks right now than I am about The Winter Soldier." _Liar._

"How many escape attempts did you make?" Coulson asked.

"Three."

"Mmm hm…" Coulson glanced over at May. The two seemed to be sharing some sort of secret.

"Catch me up, who is The Winter Soldier?" Agent Triplett interjected.

Fitz had to focus on someone besides Jemma much to her relief. As much as she appreciated being around people who loved her and cared about her safety, he had been getting a little too aggressive with his questioning. As if it was all her fault that Hydra had decided she got to be the bait for Coulson, or that she'd spent the last few nights in the company of Captain America's nemesis.

Jemma slid from her chair toward Skye sheepishly. "I really need a shower."

Skye nodded. "This way."

As she left the room she overheard Coulson mutter something to May. "Why are the baddies always after me?"

* * *

**A/N **Greensville is a place I made up completely. Although, after writing this chapter I discovered there is a Greensville county in Virginia that apparently does have wineries and might be somewhere near the Blue Ridge Mountain, and Appalachian mountains... I dunno, just came off the top of my head, kind of weird though.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Jemma Simmons, Agent Coulson, Captain America or any part of the Marvel Universe. I'm just borrowing for the sake of Fanfiction.**

* * *

**Chapter 10 takes place after the events of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. first season finale: Beginning of The End.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"I've been so alone for so long

Forgotten by the world

Forgotten to myself

Your effervescent eyes have awakened me"

~ Stabbing Westward

* * *

It had been a month since S.H.I.E.L.D. had completely unraveled leaving Jemma and her team to their own devices. The discovery that Ward was Hydra had completely shaken her world, Fitz hadn't believed until Ward had dropped them both into the ocean. The two of them had barely gotten out alive, luckily the faint S.H.I.E.L.D. distress signal they were using was able to attract the attention of a very unlikely source. Director Fury himself. And they were saved.

Unfortunately Fitz wasn't doing very well. He was still hospitalized, still in a coma.

It had been a month since she'd last seen The Winter Soldier.

She lowered her eyes to the cup of hot tea she was drinking. She felt guilty for thinking it. As if everyone else at the new base- _The Playground- _could read her mind… or at least her facial expression. She was mopey, depressed, out of sorts all the time now. Skye had mentioned it, but assumed it was because of Fitz, and yes, while some of her emotions were tied up with Fitz, it was really The Winter Soldier who preoccupied her thoughts most of the time. With Fitz, she was worried he might not recover, or if he did, that he might end up so brain damaged that he wouldn't be able to do his job anymore, which more than anyone, would disappoint him. She dreaded the idea of watching him struggle, frustrated, which was the most likely scenario if he ever woke up. She also felt horribly guilty that he had essentially confessed his love for her by saving her life… and she didn't feel the same. All she could manage was a hug and platonic kisses. He was a dear friend, and he had saved her life and so she had a certain type of love for him. A deep friendship love, but it didn't go beyond that. And this had left her with a terrible sort of remorse.

The lab was a very quiet place now. This new lab.

There was no Fitz, no Ward, no Winter Soldier… But, she must look on the bright side, she supposed. Coulson was now Director Coulson, they had a new base, much bigger and nicer than _The Bus_, and they were bringing in new recruits every day. Coulson was slowly rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. She'd also called her parents, something that had been on her bucket list of realizations while running from Hydra. She was planning a vacation. Things were improving… sure, things were getting back to a normal routine.

She looked over to the other side of the room. A calendar. Nearly the end of June… She sighed. _Just like the Stark expo, futuristic houses and futuristic labs… _Where was he? Apparently Captain America was looking for him but hadn't found him yet. She hadn't had the opportunity to speak with Steve Rogers in person, but she had talked to him over the phone. And she tried to put it out of her mind… giddy, ridiculous- star struck. She wasn't quite certain how she'd been able to be relatively normal around The Winter Soldier but not Captain America… well, then again, she wasn't all that 'normal' with him at first. She sighed.

"Jemma?"

She turned toward the voice. It was Skye. She ran into the room and right over to her, clasping Jemma's hands in her own.

Skye was beaming. "It's Fitz. He woke up!"

"Oh my gosh," Jemma gasped, leaped to her feet and the two of them practically ran down to the hospital wing. All maudlin thoughts left behind for the moment.

* * *

It had been two months since S.H.I.E.L.D. had completely unraveled leaving Jemma and her team to their own devices. It had been two months since she'd last seen The Winter Soldier.

It had been a month since Fitz first woke up from his coma. At first he needed some intense physical therapy, the doctors weren't sure how much brain damage he'd incurred when he was underwater, his brain was deprived of oxygen while Jemma had swam the both of them 90ft to the surface, but as it turned out he was doing fairly well. Sure, he'd forgotten a few things, he had an odd habit of forgetting what some of his tools were called, and he walked with a slight limp, which he still received physical therapy for, but he remained the Fitz she had loved and remembered. He'd been lucky. They were lucky. He didn't have to quit his job, the job he lived for, he just had to take a little more time now when working on projects. Fitz now tended to check and recheck for errors, just in case.

He had however, completely remembered admitting he had feelings for her, and had been lately pushing her for some sort of a response as to how she might feel, if she'd consider dating a lab geek, etc. etc. She didn't really know what to say. Truthfully her mind was on The Winter Soldier still. It hadn't been so long since she'd seen him really, not in the scheme of things. Two months… Maybe Captain America would track him down, maybe she'd run into him at the _Playground_, or the Hub… or passing in a hallway somewhere…

* * *

It was 6AM. She smacked her alarm clock, and nestled back under the covers staring up at the ceiling. What had she been dreaming? She wasn't certain but it left a big smile on her face, but when she tried to remember it seemed to slip away… drifting… some sleepy, delicious dream… She smiled contentedly, and closed her eyes.

Bucky. Yes, that's what it had been. The Winter Soldier pinning her to the ground, slowly closing in… Was he really going to kiss her? What would that be like? What would have happened if he'd kissed her? Would he have stopped? Would it have led to other things? The warmth of his breath lightly caressing her skin… And his strength… and his blue eyes locked on hers-

Her smartphone rang.

Jemma grabbed for it. It launched across the room.

_Great. _She half fell, half staggered out of bed and collected the phone. "Hello?"

"Jemma." It was Coulson. "Meeting on _The Bus _in half an hour."

"Half an hour. Right. I'll, I'll be there." She raced to the bathroom. _Let's see, ten minute shower, pull together some clothes-_

A few minutes later she was on The Bus again, in the living room/bar/meeting area. It was surreal being inside now. It had been repaired, all the glass swept up. All of their systems were back online again. Fuel line replaced. Maybe even new carpets, there was that new smell of freshly glued carpeting and plastic…

"Okay team, it's been a while. And I'm pretty sure some of us are a little rusty," Coulson began.

"Speak for yourself," May cut in.

Jemma repressed a smile. She felt like her brain was going to mush sitting around at _The Playground _all day, training interns.

Fitz glanced over at her, he must've been thinking the same thing.

"Skye is going to fill you in with the details."

Skye stood. "Okay, well as you guys know we've been tracking Deathlok," she said accessing something on her laptop.

_Instantly Jemma was back in the open house. Her eyes drifting from a magnolia tree, over a fake laptop and into The Winter Soldier's hardened eyes. _She smiled dreamily.

"Is it safe?"

Jemma woke to hear Fitz talking about something… Deathlok?

"Yes, we think it is," Skye was concluding. "It's an old Hydra base. Looks like something Deathlok feels we should maybe check out. As I said he was there yesterday. He looked around a little bit but obviously with the locked area that he couldn't break into the Director-"

"You don't have to call me that Skye." Coulson's mouth was pulled tight. It was about as close as he ever got to a blush.

Skye grinned at him, and then out at everyone else. "All right, well, Coulson…" She turned back to address him, "is that better?"

He nodded.

"Thinks we should go look into it."

"Mmm…" May uttered. "Or, maybe you're bored Phil?"

"I'm definitely bored, but I think it's worth taking a look at, plus we can get out of here for a little while. I miss _The Bus_." He looked around at the old team, "if anyone wants to come along-"

"Of course we want to-" Jemma was flustered. Both she and Fitz had said the same thing at the same time. No doubt he would mention their 'synchronicity'.

Coulson smiled his genuine, dry smile.

After packing up their things for a short trip they were on their way. To somewhere, Jemma hadn't admitted to anyone, that she had no idea where they were going. But, some old Hydra base that Deathlok had found.

"I wonder what Deathlok was doing nosing around a Hydra base to begin with," she said to Fitz while they rearranged their refurbished lab.

"Don't know."

"I hope he isn't working for them again."

"Like your friend?"

"Hmm?" She looked up from cleaning her microscope.

"The Winter Soldier."

"Uh… what?"

"Well, this is that same base you were being held prisoner isn't it?"

Her smile drooped. "Is it?"

He met her eyes skeptically. "Isn't that why you were so anxious to go on this mission? To get back at those men who took you?"

She felt uneasy and had to sit down. "No."

"Are you all right?"

"I, I… sure I am." She stood up and went to the door, "just going to get a cold compress for my head."

Fitz was right behind her, concerned, "Jemma?"

"It's nothing… just a… headache." She left the lab and headed into the kitchen area. She hadn't been kidding about needing a cold compress. She felt as if she might pass out for the second time in her life. Why hadn't she bothered to listen when Skye was filling them in on the details of this mission? It was so unlike her… but no, not lately it wasn't. It was all of this stupid Winter Soldier crap. Her brain was being flooded with thoughts of him on a constant basis. The Winter Soldier's walk. The soft way The Winter Soldier spoke to her. His smell. His touch… She had to get this out of her system and get back into the routine. She couldn't go on thinking about him. And anyhow, she was just a 'mission' for him, she was making too much out of it. Once he came to his senses… once he realized he was Bucky Barnes he most likely forgot all about her.

"Are you okay?" Skye was getting something out of the refrigerator.

"Yeah," she managed weakly. "Just need to get some ice, and sit down for a minute."

Skye watched her.

Jemma crashed onto the sofa, feeling all of a sudden, like she wanted to vomit but she was so exhausted she didn't want to get up off of the sofa to bother. She lifted her eyes and found Skye staring at her, and she smiled.

"What?"

"You staring at me like that. It's how The Winter Soldier used to look at me all the time."

"He stared?"

"Constantly." And then her smile slipped.

"Uh huh…" Skye came around and sat down on one of the stools. "You never told me that before."

"Didn't I?" Her voice pitched.

Skye shook her head, smiling at her, in a sort of interested for juicy gossip sort of way. "Maybe he liked you?"

Jemma sat up. "What? No."

"That was an awfully fast 'no'. Sounds very suspicious."

Jemma looked away, holding some crushed ice to her cheek to help relieve her nausea and the blood, no doubt, rushing to her cheeks.

"You were stuck out in the wilderness with him for days. Are you sure nothing happened between you two?"

Jemma's eyes were riveted to Skye's instantly. It was as if Skye knew about him spooning with her out there on the very mountain they were flying back to.

Skye's face lit up. "O-kay."

"It's wasn't like that."

"Sure."

"I mean… he is reasonably handsome."

"Handsome?" Fitz had apparently come into the room when the two of them weren't paying attention. "He has a metal arm."

"Really Fitz?" Jemma felt that was a pretty low. _Of course he had a metal arm, the poor thing. Not like he wanted one, everyone knew that... well, now. Now that she and Fitz had made the reading of the super secret "The Winter Soldier" file in Coulson's desk mandatory reading._

Fitz looked slightly ashamed of himself. "The man was born in 1917."

"Wow," Skye remarked.

"Really?" Jemma's voice pitched, "he doesn't look a day over 30."

"He also held you hostage," Fitz said.

"Oh right, I know. I know… going back there, I guess that's why I'm not feeling too well right now. Maybe a little PTSD."

"Or Stockholm Syndrome," Fitz muttered.

"Fitz," Skye scolded him. "Geez, give her a break. I'm actually surprised she wanted to come back with us to investigate this base."

"That's because I didn't know." Jemma's voice was barely audible under a sofa pillow, where she'd decided to tuck in hoping people would leave her alone. _Oh, that's right. One of the nice things about being at The Playground. My. Own. Room. Where people left me alone when I felt sick. Novel concept that one._

Agent Triplett wandered in. "Oh, I see we're all in here having a pow wow?"

"Er, sort of," Fitz said.

"Well, May wanted me to come back to let you know we'd be landing in 15 minutes."

Jemma came out of her burrow, under the pillow. "So soon?"

"Yeah."

Skye met her eyes as Triplett and Fitz left. A look of concern on her face.

"Oh, I'll be fine. It's just the Hydra base where I was held prisoner in a cell with a metal toilet, and a palette for a bed." She laughed a pitifully nervous laugh. "Everything's good yeah. It will be fine." _I can't believe I agreed to this._


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I just write fanfiction, I don't own anything Marvel.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Jemma had a funny feeling she wouldn't get the option to stay on _The Bus _after she'd offered to go along for the ride, even though Skye reassured her that Coulson would let her, as she wasn't feeling too comfortable about returning to the place she'd been held prisoner. As it turned out Skye got left behind on _The Bus _with May to monitor their activity. May had been left in case they needed to make a quick getaway. And Jemma got to accompany Coulson, Triplett and Fitz back to the Hydra base.

May had landed the plane on top of the mountain, so it wasn't quite as far of a walk to find it, about half a mile. If only she had had a plane when she was trekking down the mountain with The Winter Soldier to begin with.

"How did you escape this place?" Fitz asked as they stood outside the building.

It was a large building, it looked nearly like a small factory but with no obvious doors at the ground floor and it was set into the side of the mountain.

"We jumped," Jemma said looking up.

"That's got to be a good 10 meters."

She thought back on the experience, a little troubled by it. "Yes," she said absently. "It was a scary drop."

Coulson sighed. "Well, we've got to get back in there. Trip did you bring the spelunking gear?"

"Yes, I did."

"Spelunking?" Jemma stammered, "I, I don't think I can do that Sir-"

"It's all right. We'll pull you up."

Fitz put one finger in the air, "um…"

Trip glanced at Coulson and Coulson smiled at Fitz. "We'll pull you up too Fitz."

"Right," Fitz sighed.

* * *

The blood had been mopped up but the bullet holes were still there. On the roof, in the hallway, everywhere The Winter Soldier had met them. Jemma hadn't considered whether or not he had actually killed those Hydra men or if it was all acting. Since that was all just for her benefit, to make him trust her. But, looking at the holes in the wall now, she was pretty certain that those Hydra guards hadn't been in on the truth either, and were just eliminated to keep up the ruse. Which, was pretty disturbing.

"What happened here?" Fitz asked as they moved down the hall.

"The Winter Soldier."

"Ah, him."

"They could really use an interior decorator."

Jemma feigned a smile. "Yes, most of this place looks like the set of the Death Star."

They came to the T in the hallway. Trip turned to the left. "What's down there?"

"My prison cell. The Winter Soldier's room… er, cell… well, much nicer cell than mine anyhow. More of a room really," Jemma said.

Coulson checked in with Skye. "She says to take the left. That the locked room is further down this way."

"Oh goodie," Jemma whispered as she followed them down the hall she knew so well.

Coulson turned back to her. "You doing all right Simmons?"

She faked another smile. "Never better Sir."

"Good. I know this is probably a little rough for you." And then he turned away and continued down the hall ahead of her.

The Winter Soldier's room was open, and being that she was at the tail end of the group she decided no one would notice if she just peered inside for a minute. She crept over to it, and looked in. Yes, this was his room. Minus the dead bodies. It was the same way they'd left it.

Jemma walked in. There was a thin layer of dust on the table. He hadn't been back. She took a few steps toward his bedroom area. There were his clothes lying on the floor just as he'd left them. A couple of bath towels, which had dried and hardened in crumpled forms lying atop a boot and underwear. Her eyes fell to his unmade bed, the sloppy stack of books on his dresser-

"What a slob."

She spun around, trembling.

Fitz stood behind her.

"Yeah, he could use a maid service," Trip said just behind Fitz.

"Come on team, we need to get to that locked door sooner rather than later."

The group of them traipsed back out of the room and down the hall. She passed by her cell, never looking in its direction, she didn't want to see it. Didn't want to think about it. She was here on a mission, she was free.

At the very end of the hall, was the door in question. It was tall, metal and had an electronic lock of some sort.

"Looks reinforced," Coulson remarked pulling a pick-lock device from his pocket. "This should take care it," he said sticking it under the lock. "Everyone might want to take a couple steps back."

A minute later the door was blown open in a loud blast.

"That's subtle," Trip said as they moved inside.

Jemma noticed several planes.

"Someone left the lights on," Trip muttered.

"Is this… a runway?"

"Yes Fitz, I think it is." Coulson pulled out his gun.

There was the faint sound of people calling to one another.

The team pressed up against a wall for cover.

"I don't think this base is abandoned," Coulson said dryly.

Trip waved Jemma and Fitz back. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Everybody back up," Coulson said under his breath.

The four of them slunk back out of the secret hangar and then once they were back in the hallway they started to run. Four of them against however many Hydra agents were in this base were not good odds.

Jemma had come prepared this time, trainers instead of flats. She hadn't, however, brought a weapon of any sort with her.

She pointed the way that she and The Winter Soldier had escaped, through the mechanical room, in the dark and back up to the roof. They climbed to the roof, and then down off the roof and headed back to where May had landed _The Bus _in a clearing about half a mile away up the mountain.

"That was a close one," Fitz smiled. "I didn't think we were gonna make it out of there."

"Maybe we should've stayed. Could be they just left a skeleton crew behind in the hangar," Trip said.

"Yeah, maybe."

Jemma could see their plane coming into view and May was standing in the open cargo bay next to Lola.

Then, before she realized what was happening, she was thrown into the air and slammed back down again several feet from where she'd been. The world around her was fuzzy, her head was ringing.

Fitz was over her, mouthing something like, "Jemma get up!" And pulling at her arm.

"W, what happened?" she stammered as she was dragged to her feet. And then, she heard something, like gunfire. Was someone shooting at them?

And then all sound returned, and she could see clearly again.

"Get down," Coulson was yelling at them. "Get down both of you."

"We have to get back to the plane!" Fitz yelled to her.

Something exploded between them and _The Bus _making it nearly impossible to get back to it. They were pinned down in a crossfire.

"That was not an abandoned base," Coulson called out.

"Nope, and I'm going to be out of bullets soon. We have to make a run for it," Trip said.

"Yep."

Hydra began to move in. Jemma could see the men shooting at them now, creeping out of the forest around them. She did not want to be taken prisoner again.

"Put down your weapons!"

Coulson turned to them. "Don't put down your weapons." Although, he and Agent Triplett were the only ones returning fire. She wasn't sure if Fitz had a pistol on him or any of their gadgets. Sadly, she didn't.

"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. surrender or-" He slumped to the ground.

Another Hydra agent fell to the ground, and then another…

"There's a sniper. Trip can you see him?" Coulson said.

The Hydra agents turned toward the new shooter, and began to fire back.

Jemma squinted in the direction Agent Triplett was looking in. She couldn't see anyone.

Agent Triplett grabbed a pair of high powered binoculars and scoped the area. "I don't know. If he's up there he's pretty well hidden."

"C'mon Jemma," Fitz grabbed her by the sleeve. "Let's get inside."

She scrambled to her feet and then someone else grabbed her much more roughly from behind. "Don't move." She felt a gun barrel at the back of her head.

But before she was able to turn around he fell to the ground. A bullet had shattered the glasses on his face.

Several other Hydra agents were coming toward her from the same direction.

Coulson and Trip were busy firing in the opposite direction.

The Hydra men were closing in on her and Fitz. They were alone out there, left to their own wits. Jemma threw her backpack around nailing one agent in the face. This did enough to really piss him off.

He caught her in a headlock.

Jemma fought with him but she had very little martial arts training. She attempted to flip him, but he had her tight and was beginning to suffocate her.

A moment later, she was pulled down to the ground and then his hands released fully. She came up coughing and sputtering, her eyes on a pair of heavy black boots in front of her. Confused she lifted her head.

The Winter Soldier was standing over her, fighting the agent that had her in the headlock. He slammed his bionic arm into him and, knocked him bloodied, to the weeds beside her. And then he moved on to the next one, sending him flying through the air with a kick to the chest.

There were bloodied bodies piling up all around her. She got up off the ground.

He turned and faced her. She had no idea what he was thinking, he was wearing a mask and goggles that made his expression unreadable.

"Bucky," she gasped.

A Hydra agent rushed him as he turned to look at her. The Winter Soldier grappled with him, an assault rifle pressed up against the leather armor he wore.

There was some rapid fire but Jemma wasn't certain where it had come from. The ground was on fire from the explosions. There was chaos all around her.

May yanked her by one arm. She was on the field of combat now. She also had Fitz by his shirt sleeve and was intently pulling them both toward the plane.

The Winter Soldier turned toward her. It was as if in slow motion. His long brown hair hanging over the goggles, menacing and unreadable.

May released Fitz and Simmons, wary, readying herself for a fight.

"No!" Jemma jumped in front of him. "No, she's my friend!"

His posture shifted, and he turned back meeting the oncoming Hydra operatives who were following them back to the plane. His movements were fast, and precise as he eliminated his targets. She watched in horror as men were stabbed, limbs broken, and smashed with his metal arm.

But she couldn't stare for too long, she scrambled into up into the cargo bay along with Fitz.

"Go inside!" May instructed before she waded back into the fray.

She lingered longer than she probably should have. The sound of gunfire, and people screaming, and the metallic whirr of The Winter Soldier's bionic arm filling her ears. It was a total and complete bedlam outside.

Trip stumbled aboard followed by May and Coulson.

"I told you to go inside," May said sternly.

Her eyes fell to The Winter Soldier, the only man on their side left out there to battle with the remaining Hydra agents, of which, there were still at least two dozen.

The hatch began to close.

"We can't just leave him behind!" Jemma pleaded with May.

She glanced over at him, and then met Jemma's eyes. "He's too dangerous."

"But…"

She watched as the door closed completely on the scene outside the old Hydra base. The Winter Soldier locked out and left to his own defenses.

Coulson startled her with his presence. "He wouldn't have gotten involved if he didn't think he could handle himself."

"But Sir, he came to our rescue and now we're going to leave him out there to fend for himself."

"He came to 'your' rescue Agent Simmons."

"What? No. I don't think-" But then the look on Coulson's face stopped her.

"Why don't you go collect yourself Simmons? We all need to."

"Right." _This was so wrong. _Jemma forced herself to leave the cargo bay and find her way back to the tiny space where she slept on board to change her clothes, then to the bathroom to assess the damage she'd taken.

As _The Bus _lifted off she tried not to think about The Winter Soldier being injured or possibly taken prisoner by Hydra again. They should've helped him…

* * *

"Are you sure nothing happened between you?" Fitz said as Jemma finished cleaning up a gash on his forehead in the lab, about half an hour later.

"No. Nothing happened Fitz."

Trip came in, and helped himself to some Betadine. "I'd say he definitely wants something to happen."

Jemma looked down blushing as she reached for a bandage. "I'm sure that's not the case."

"Yeah, anyone who follows you around sniping people who threaten you isn't interested," Fitz muttered clearly annoyed.

Jemma hastened to apply the bandage and then excused herself from the lab. As she walked out into the meeting room/bar area Skye smiled at her.

"It is kind of romantic."

"Stalker if you ask me," Fitz said passing by her.

After he was gone Skye leaned in and said, "Is Fitz jealous?"

"It is The Winter Soldier, no one to be taken lightly."

"Agent Triplett," Jemma snapped.

"Hey, just sayin'."

"You guys," her voice pitched. "There is nothing going on."

"Okay, okay." Skye put her hands in the air.

_Annoying. Can't a girl just get saved by a former Hydra agent without everyone getting in her business about it? _Jemma needed a minute alone. She walked briskly back to her sleeping compartment.

She swiped her keycard in front of the door and it slid open. It was an incredibly tiny compartment, they all had one like it on _The Bus. _Her bed was the biggest thing in there, and as she entered, it was directly in front of her against the wall. She had meant to climb immediately into bed but then she heard something. A strangled sort of breath.

She turned around.

The Winter Soldier stood up against the lockers, just behind the door.

She gasped.

He put one bloody finger up to the mask.

"Bucky?"

Shaking he removed his goggles and let them fall to the floor, and then, after a couple tugs the mask fell from his face, also clattering at her feet. He sucked in air as if he hadn't had any in such a long time.

"Help me…"


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Just borrowing from Marvel, I don't really own anything here just my wit and genius.**

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**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Help me…" He faltered, his legs barely able to hold him.

Jemma caught him as his knees buckled and nearly fell to the floor herself, his arms draped over her shoulders. He was heavy. He half sat, half laid down on the floor. Propped against the lockers.

"Bucky?" She glanced down, her white lab coat was now covered in blood. "Oh my God, I told them to wait for you." Jemma tore at the buckles holding his leather armor together but they wouldn't open fast enough, so she grabbed a pair of medical scissors cut the straps, and opened up his armor with such force he cried out. Some of the leather was embedded in the wound and she'd just pulled at it.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" She pressed her hand against the wound, staunching the blood.

"Ah…"

She looked out into the empty hall.

"Don't tell them I'm here," he panted.

Jemma gazed down at him. He was pleading with her, bleeding all over the floor, if she didn't tell someone he was going to die. "I have to."

"No. No don't." He grabbed her arm, "Jemma…" Blood trickled down his chin.

"Fitz! Fitz come in here!"

His eyes widened. Terror seized him. For a moment she thought he was going to fight get to his feet and run away, but he'd lost too much blood. He was fighting to hold onto her arm.

"No…" he gasped. He seemed completely forlorn as if she'd just betrayed his trust. "Don't… don't let them put me in the chair."

She met his eyes tenderly not certain what 'chair' he was referring to. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

His eyes were fixed on hers, afraid… but he was losing this fight with his own body. His grip on her arm slackened and his head fell back against the lockers. His breathing was heavy. His lips blood flecked.

"Fitz! Someone help me!"

Skye came running over.

"I need Fitz right away."

Skye's eyes widened when she caught sight of The Winter Soldier collapsed in Jemma's room and then she ran off.

A minute later Fitz was in her room, a look of complete disbelief on his face. "That's… The Winter Soldier. How did he get in here?"

"I need to get him into surgery now."

The Winter Soldier's hand slipped from her arm. His head lolled to one side.

"Bucky?" She hesitated to touch his face. "Bucky?"

* * *

**Six hours later back at The Playground…**

Jemma watched The Winter Soldier regain consciousness from behind the mirrored security glass of the recovery room. A nurse was in there with him as he opened his eyes. Slowly, groggy… unaware of his surroundings.

"Hello there," she said to him.

Jemma squirmed in her chair just beyond his reach. That should've been her. She should've been there when he woke up. Two hours of surgery with Fitz assisting, mostly accomplished on _The Bus _while May kept them in a holding pattern so that the operation wouldn't be interrupted by a bumpy landing. He'd received five units of blood during a transfusion, and she had removed a bullet from his lower left lung, leaving his lung partly collapsed. Once back at _The Playground _she, with the aid of a regular doctor on staff, ran a CT scan to see if any fragments of the bullet had penetrated his abdominal cavity. Luckily, none had. They also reinflated his collapsed lung, and she was quite certain waking up in this strange antiseptic environment with tubes sticking out of his chest was going to completely freak him out. But, it was Director Coulson's order that she not enter the room until he gave her permission.

The Winter Soldier looked at the nurse whom he did not recognize, then glanced around the room, his mouth opening as if silently horrified. He tried to move.

He was handcuffed to a modified, reinforced bed with restraints reserved for Assets, like himself.

A sound escaped his lips, a sound she'd never heard him make, a gasp of trepidation, as if he knew what was coming next and he didn't want it to happen. He tried the cuffs. They didn't give.

"It's all right," the nurse assured him. "Don't fight so hard, you've just had an operation. A collapsed lung. You need to rest."

"Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital."

He looked down at the cuffs again, and then back up at her. He said something to her in Russian.

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry I only speak English."

Clearly afraid, he tried to steady his breathing. "Where's Zola?"

"Who's she?"

The Winter Soldier did a quick double take, and swallowed. "No one."

She smiled at him and pulled a tray toward him. "Did you want to watch TV?"

He lowered his eyes.

"I'll take that as a 'no'."

Jemma's heart ached to see him stuck in this fishbowl. He had no idea he was being watched.

The nurse tied the bell to the bedrail just below his hand. "If you need anything. More morphine, TV on, fix your bed to a more comfortable position, just push the button and someone will be in, okay hun?"

He nodded slowly.

"Okay." She left and Jemma immediately ran over to her.

"What are his vitals? Did you get his blood pressure?"

The nurse smiled at her. "In an hour."

_Oh my God, why am I not in there? _

Fitz sat down at the chair she'd just vacated.

"Fitz!" She ran over to him. "You've got to get in there."

He looked puzzled. "Why? Did you leave something inside?"

"No," she began and handed him her stethoscope, "I need you take his vitals for me."

"What? He's awake now isn't he?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him, propped up in bed, miserable. "Why, yes he is."

"Wait. Wasn't his case handed over to Dr. Surowitz earlier today? Shouldn't you be in your lab training interns?"

She sighed. "C'mon Fitz, just check his vitals. I can't go back to the lab until I'm sure my surgery was a success."

Fitz stood, but looked through the glass at The Winter Soldier. "Well, clearly it was a success."

"Just do it," she said pushing him forward.

"All right." He took the stethoscope and with an uneasy backward glance at Jemma went into the mock hospital room.

The Winter Soldier immediately watched him. Wary. Perhaps he recognized him from the fight they'd been in a scant few hours ago.

Fitz straightened up, putting on his professional face and walked over toward him, gathering a blood pressure monitor.

"Where's Jemma?"

Jemma perked up. _He's looking for me! _She focused all of her attention at the scene unfolding before her, unable to interact.

"Uh, Simmons? I don't know," Fitz said, obviously uncomfortable. Trying to listen to The Winter Soldier's heart while checking his watch.

The Winter Soldier watched him unflinching, and then looked down at the blood pressure cuff which was wrapped around his metal arm.

Fitz followed his gaze. "Whoopsies. Well, that's not going to work is it?"

"Who are you?"

"Agent Fitz. I'm Jemma's…" he stammered, and glanced up at the mirror/window, "lab partner."

The Winter Soldier immediately noticed this and looked right at Jemma, through the fake mirror.

"I'm sorry," she uttered although she knew he couldn't see or hear her. His expression was so full of sorrow. He probably thought that she'd done this to him. Imprisoned him for the second time.

Fitz moved between them and put the blood pressure cuff on the human arm this time. "Here we go."

"Are you a biochemist too?"

She had no idea how he could've even asked that… clearly Fitz had no idea what he was doing, but then again, maybe that was the whole point. Maybe he wanted to know exactly what was going on.

"No. I'm an engineer. I did assist in your surgery though. Jemma, she did all the heavy lifting though. Smart one, she is. I mean… from a biochemistry standpoint."

The Winter Soldier stared at him.

Fitz's smile drooped under the piercing stare. "Right, well. Looks like I have some of your vitals here." He had a thermometer in his hand that he quickly stowed away in his pocket. "I think we're good." He walked briskly out the door and into the hall where Jemma was waiting.

She took the scribbled notepad he handed her.

"There."

"You didn't take his temperature."

He looked clearly annoyed with her. "No, I didn't."

"What if he has a fever?"

"Oh, I don't know Jemma. The nurse will probably come in and check on him soon."

"But why didn't you take it Fitz?"

The Winter Soldier was staring at them through the glass.

Fitz pointed at him. "Because… because, he's unnerving… that's why."

Jemma looked at him. Her face softened. "I know. Poor man."

"Poor… poor man?" He met her eyes bewildered, "Jemma I really do think you've taken leave of your senses. The man's an assassin… and a slob…"

She turned toward him. "Oh Fitz."

He stalked off.

"Fitz!" She called out to him as he walked away, "I'm sorry!"

* * *

**Three hours later…**

…And Jemma hadn't moved from the spot she was rooted to.

"Jemma, don't you have work to do?" Coulson and May came up behind her.

"Oh, hello Sir." She smiled brightly at him. _Just keep smiling, keep pretending that not being able to go inside isn't driving you completely mental. _"Just thought I'd take a break and come see how the patient is doing."

"No you didn't."

"No, no I didn't." She folded her arms. "With all due respect, I did perform this surgery, mostly. I'd like to see my patient now."

Coulson stood at the door to The Winter Soldier's room. "I hear you Simmons, but you'll have to wait." And then he went in.

She and May stood outside. She didn't even look at May. She was fuming.

The Winter Soldier's eyes were immediately focused on him.

"I'm Director Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.," he flashed one of the new badges at him.

He looked off to the side and then back at him and said, "Coulson…" as if he recognized it and remembered.

If this bothered the Director, it didn't show. His expression was deadpan.

"Where's Jemma?"

"She'll be in after you answer a few questions."

The Winter Soldier's face darkened.

"How did you get aboard my plane?"

"I climbed into the wheel well."

Coulson nodded. "People die from doing that every year."

He stared out at Coulson blankly.

"How did you get into Agent Simmons room?"

"Who?"

"Jemma's room."

"She came out of her room and I went in when she wasn't looking."

"Are you sure she didn't help you get on the plane?"

"I want to see Jemma," he said softly.

"Yes. I know that Bucky-"

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry. I thought that was your name."

"Jemma calls me that, not you."

"Until you answer my questions we won't be sending Jemma in."

"I'm done answering questions," he said softly and leaned back.

"Sergeant Barnes there are just a few more questions we have about Hydra."

The Winter Soldier didn't move.

"Can you tell me why you were at that Hydra base yesterday?"

He stared at Coulson.

"Sergeant Barnes, why were you at that Hydra base?"

No response.

"One way or another we find out what we need to know. We're good at that."

The Winter Soldier looked at him knowingly, defiance in his eyes, as if there was nothing Coulson could possibly do that he hadn't gone through already.

Coulson glanced over at The Winter Soldier's metal arm, his mouth tightened, it seemed to pain him to make that last statement to someone as obviously abused as this man was. He met The Winter Soldier's eyes. "All right. We'll do it your way."

Coulson left the fake hospital room, rounded the corner and looked at Jemma. "Go on."

"W, what? I, I can go in now?" She hadn't intended to sound quite so desperate, but yes, that's the way it came out.

He studied The Winter Soldier from behind the glass. "I'm sure you want to make certain he's in good health."

"Of, of course," Jemma said gathering up her stethoscope and a notepad on his prompting.

"Is this a good idea?" May asked.

"Sure."

Jemma didn't waste any more time. She rushed to the door. Yes, everything they'd be able to say to one another would be on display for S.H.I.E.L.D. sort of like being in prison at the Hydra base, but if this was the only way she was going to be able to see him, she'd take it. She would just... be professional. Yes, that was it... calm, cool and collected.

* * *

"Bucky!" she grinned. _Oh… she'd blown being calm, cool and collected already._

His face brightened as soon as he saw her. He tried his handcuffs again to no avail.

She moved across the room, in what seemed like, three bounds and then she was at his side. And she grinned like an idiot.

"Wendy."

"What?" She hit his metal arm lightly. "Ow…"

The faintest smirk graced his mouth.

"Wendy…" she grumbled putting the earpieces of the stethoscope in.

He met her eyes and she lowered hers and then looked back up into his eyes nervously. He was making her so self-conscious staring at her, following the shape of her face, her hair, and the curve of her lips… And then, as if realizing what he was doing, he looked down at the hospital gown he wore.

Jemma lifted it slightly, the snaps the top were not fastened and it billowed out, just long enough for him to look down it, when she set the cold chest piece over his heart.

He turned to her seeming a bit confused. "I'm not wearing any pants."

"What?" Her voice pitched.

He glanced at the unattractive hospital gown.

"Oh right. Oh that…" She quickly looked over at his tray. "Oh look… you have chocolate milk!"

He stared at her.

She blushed. "Hospital policy I'm afraid. You also have a catheter so you don't have to worry about trips to the loo," she said cheerfully.

"Oh." He looked a bit disturbed as he glanced back down.

"The nurses…" she faltered.

He lifted his pale eyes to look at her. "So…"

"So…" she attempted a smile, trying desperately not to look out the mirror/window at her team.

"So this wasn't you then?"

"Ah… um, well…" She met his eyes. "For the surgery, you see. It had to be a sterile environment and on the plane it was just myself and Fitz..."

He stared at her.

She realized she was beyond blushing at this point. Her face must've been scarlet. "Stop looking at me."

There was an incredibly long pause.

"I'm used to it," he said finally. "I've been nothing but a lab rat for so long…" And then he turned and looked at the faux mirror. "I'm used to being watched too."

She touched his metal arm lightly, "I'm sorry."

His face seemed pained. "For what?"

"I don't want you to feel like you're just… a, a lab rat."

His face worked, as if he had several contradicting thoughts. But all he said was: "You don't make me feel like that."

She sort of gasped. Apparently she'd been holding her breath, this annoying tear-filled sound came out, much to her dismay. "Well, that's good. That's a good thing." _Yes, that's all I can possibly say in front of my boss and my team… I hope you have some idea of what I'm really feeling. _"And, your vitals look really good." She lifted the corner of the bandage off of his chest. The wound was nearly closed. "As a matter of fact, I don't think you'll need this bandage anymore. You seem to be healing at a very rapid rate. I'd better notify Dr. Surowitz that we'll need to remove those chest tubes before your skin grows over the top of them."

He stared up at her, silently. Taking in her features…

She could only imagine what Coulson was going to say to her once she left his room. She didn't want to face him so, she pulled up a chair and sat down. "Did you want to watch some TV… with me?"

He nodded slowly.

She switched on the TV and smiled. "Oh my gosh, a Doctor Who marathon!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Yep, still borrowing from Marvel for the sake of fanfiction. I do not own any of this.**

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**A/N In case anyone read Ch 12 prior to 2pm Eastern time May 22****nd****. I added another scene. You probably will want to read it so that Ch 13 makes sense.**

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**Stay**

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**Chapter 13**

The Winter Soldier slept.

Jemma had attempted sleep, and had managed about four hours when she awoke staring at her bedroom ceiling, fully and completely awake. She turned over but could not seem to stop thinking. Thinking about Bucky. About the fact that he was downstairs and she was so far away from him, and she had wasted two full months without him around and that when she'd gotten the opportunity to talk to him again it had to be in front of the team and she didn't get to really talk to him at all. It was just small talk mainly.

She looked around her room, her walls were sea-foam green. It was new, everything at _The Playground _was new. She checked her alarm, it was 2AM.

Coulson had left by the time the Doctor Who marathon had ended. The Winter Soldier was sound asleep. She'd crept out, and back to her room at the base. Which was a nice little apartment, hidden in an underground lair really, so there wasn't much of a view… like none, but the apartment itself was airy enough. It was painted in light colors she suspected because they were underground and it was meant to seem bright.

Jemma got up out of bed, threw on her bathrobe and headed into her bathroom for a shower. She wondered where Bucky had been all that time, as she lathered the shampoo into her hair. Had he stayed in Greensville while she and her team had been trying to stop Garrett and Ward? Why had he been at the Hydra base? Why hadn't Captain America found him? She had tipped him off as to Bucky's whereabouts hoping that he'd be found and that his old friend would help him.

She toweled off, threw on clothes and got ready to go downstairs. If she couldn't sleep she might as well work or something…

* * *

After a couple hours in the lab, she could no longer see any reason not to find out how her patient was doing. Today was the day Dr. Surowitz would be in to pull out his chest tubes. Jemma planned to be present for at least moral support. As she rounded the corner to the hallway he was in she ran into Coulson… _Bloody hell. _

He turned to her, a cup of coffee in one hand. "Simmons, you're up late."

"Other way around actually."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No." She sat some files and her notebook down on a desk.

"How was Doctor Who?"

She walked over to the large window that Coulson was standing in front of, and looked in. The Winter Soldier was sound asleep in the hospital bed. He apparently had no problem getting to sleep, or with sleeping in hospital beds.

"Looks like it worked wonders on your friend," Coulson added.

"Apparently. I noticed you weren't around when I left his room either. Did it put you to sleep too?"

He chuckled. "Something like that."

And then it occurred to her, what he'd just said and she looked directly at Coulson. "Wait, did you just refer to The Winter Soldier as my friend?"

He glanced at her and smiled. "Yep."

"Oh, well… really more of my patient… And the man who tricked me into trying to get to his target…"

Coulson tilted his head to one side. "And now he's here, in our top secret base."

"You don't think… that he's still trying to kill you?"

He folded his arms as he studied Bucky's sleeping form. "It's a possibility. He did come aboard at the very same Hydra base."

She hadn't considered this. She thought he must have been there for her… not that he might be on the same mission he'd been on before. Someone as smart as herself completely duped by a handsome man? Not unheard of. She sighed, she didn't want to believe that. It didn't really fit his M.O. He had worked for Hydra as a master assassin, a weapon… he didn't seem to be a particularly sneaky individual… on the other hand Natasha Romanoff was a master assassin and a particularly sneaky individual so she supposed it was possible. Not probable though.

"I can't believe that."

"I'm not surprised," he said dryly.

She folded her arms. He was treating her like she was a dewy eyed schoolgirl.

"Bucky… Barnes…"

Both she and Coulson perked up as The Winter Soldier began to talk in his sleep.

"Sergeant… 32, 55… 72…41… Bucky… Bucky Barnes…" he mumbled.

"Did you know about this?" Coulson said as he jogged over to the door to the mock hospital room.

"Sir, please don't wake him! He really needs his rest-"

A moment later Director Coulson was standing in The Winter Soldier's room.

She sighed. This was not good for his recovery at all.

"Bucky?" Coulson said. "Bucky Barnes."

"Hmm?..."

"Can you hear me Bucky?"

The Winter Soldier struggled against the restrains in his sleep.

"You're Bucky Barnes."

The Winter Soldier's eyes snapped open. He was panting, sweaty from whatever nightmarish memory he'd been reliving. He locked eyes with Coulson.

The Director studied him. "What is your name?"

He didn't move for a few minutes. "Why are you holding me here? What do you want from me?"

"I want to know that you aren't working for Hydra."

He sighed, frustrated and then he said softly, "I saved your team."

"Is that what happened or were you just trying to get aboard my plane so that you could complete your mission?"

The Winter Soldier searched the blankets. "I couldn't complete my mission. I couldn't do it."

"Because?"

He didn't move.

"Of… Jemma?" Coulson said.

His eyes met Coulson's again. "Leave her out of this."

"You're… protecting her? Did she help you get aboard my plane?"

"No."

"But you are protecting her?" He seemed amused. Why was he so amused?

Jemma folded her arms from behind the mirror/window.

The Winter Soldier looked drained, he eased back against his pillow. After a lengthy pause he countered the silence with: "What time is it?"

"What does it matter?"

"I'm tired."

Coulson checked his watch. "About 4:30."

The Winter Soldier stared up at the ceiling. Probably hoping to cut off all conversation with the Director.

"You talk in your sleep," Coulson said.

"Do I?"

"That's right Sergeant Barnes. What was that serial number again I forget… 32… 55…"

"72." The Winter Soldier clamped his mouth shut as soon as he'd said it.

"Oh that's right."

His face had taken on a distinctly determined look.

The nurse suddenly came in.

Coulson was startled to see her.

"Someone pushed the call bell?" She said to Coulson who responded with a look of bewilderment, and then she addressed The Winter Soldier. "Did you need something hun?"

"Morphine," he gritted.

Coulson smirked at him. "Okay, I guess we're done here."

Jemma couldn't help but laugh.

Coulson was on his way out.

She covered her grin with her hand. She did, of course, want The Winter Soldier to remember who he was, but he deserved some rest, and that was a pretty inventive way of getting what he wanted. Awoken from a nightmare only to be interrogated at 4 o'clock in the morning? That had to be miserable. _Poor Bucky._

"You're up next," Coulson said as he walked back down the hallway toward her.

"W, what?" The smile slipped from her face.

"We need to know what The Winter Soldier was doing at that Hydra base. He's pretty tight-lipped about that. You're our secret weapon. He likes you. You're going to get that information out of him."

_He likes me? _She stood there dumbfounded taking that one sentence in.

"Agent Simmons?"

"Um… what? You want me to… interrogate him?" She was a lab nerd. She wasn't a specialist. Interrogation had always been Coulson's thing. "I wouldn't know where to start."

He looked a bit put off. "Just talk to him Simmons. He'll open up to you."

"Sir, I, I don't know… That's really not my thing-"

He folded his arms. "Oh I think you'll do fine. He was okay with letting you know about his lack of pants situation yesterday. I think he'll tell you what he was doing at the base."

She blushed furiously. "Oh… oh, right."

He started off down the hall and then called back, "Oh, and Simmons. Try to remember he's been working for Hydra. Don't get too attached."

_Too late. _She was already back to thinking about that statement Coulson had made about The Winter Soldier 'liking her', did he honestly think she was going to put her head on straight now? She was already too far gone. But, instead of addressing that issue she said, "Sir? I didn't help him get onto _The Bus._ You keep asking him that, but I honestly didn't know he was there."

He smiled and nodded. "Good to know."

"I wouldn't do that Sir."

"Going to go get some sleep now Simmons. You should do the same."

He didn't believe her. _Annoying. _She turned back to look at The Winter Soldier. He was sound asleep again. The morphine put him out, probably not for long though. His body had a way of absorbing drugs much the way Captain America's did. She had had to use anesthetic on him twice while operating, to spare him from going into shock in case he woke up in the middle of it. The morphine might last two hours, and then he'd be feeling the injury again. She supposed he could easily be the designated driver if he went out drinking with friends. Drink all he wanted and never get drunk… Friends? Yeah, she could so see him hanging out with the team at a bar. On the other hand, when was the last time any of them had gone out? The closest thing they'd had to a relaxing time lately was hanging around the pool at some dive motel.

She glanced down at the files on the desk, and then back up at The Winter Soldier. _Coulson had mentioned something about going to sleep hadn't he? _She wondered… His office was probably unoccupied…

* * *

Director Coulson's office was the nicest office at _The Playground_. Large, airy… he had a manly dark hardwood floor, and a large mahogany desk.

Jemma was able to get into his office with the help of a late night custodian who she had convinced that she needed to have the files, she happened to be holding, on her boss's desk by 7 or she'd be in a boatload of trouble. Without any questions asked, probably because it was very early in the morning and he didn't want to be bothered the custodian had let her in.

Once inside she used her lock picking skills, which she'd used only a couple times before in her life, to break into his desk. It took her an hour. Fitz was slightly better at picking locks. He'd been the one who had broken into Coulson's desk aboard _The Bus_ when they'd been ransacking his desk for clues about the GH.325 drug and instead they'd found the notorious file on The Winter Soldier…

Success! She pulled the top drawer open cautiously, holding her breath. It would not look good if someone were to walk in right about now. What in the world would she tell them? She was an absolutely horrendous liar.

The top drawer did not contain the file on The Winter Soldier. She quickly rummaged through the other drawers full of files, and… superhero trade cards… _Empty?! _The file on The Winter Soldier wasn't even there! She hastily returned the desk back to its original state and hurried out of his office. _Huge wasted effort. I could've been in big trouble if I'd gotten caught and all for what? Nothing. I didn't even get my hands on that file. _Where was it?


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't have anything to do with Marvel. I'm just borrowing for my own enjoyment.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

She bustled down the hallway. The lights were on. A few people were milling into work. What time was it? She checked her phone, after 6. She yawned, now she was wishing she'd had a full night's sleep.

What was she going to do at 6AM? _Something… something… oh my gosh that's right! Breakfast! _She jogged down back down to The Winter Soldier's room, well nearly. She rounded the corner to the hallway and stopped. Coulson and Agent Triplett were standing there talking to Steve Rogers. For a moment she was star-struck. Good golly, he was tall and... broad. And then she thought it was so sad that Bucky had no idea his best friend was standing right outside the one-way window.

She started down the hallway, walking purposefully, this was no time to be star-struck by The Winter Soldier's best friend.

"Nick Fury told me you were dead." She overheard Steve say.

"I was. But long story short… don't ever go to Tahiti."

"What?"

Coulson saw her, and turned toward her. "Agent Simmons, this is Captain Am-"

"Steve is fine," he said to her.

"Oh er, hello Steve. We spoke on the phone a couple of months back-"

"Right, right I remember now."

"She's the agent who was taken hostage by The Winter Soldier," Coulson said.

Jemma wasn't exactly certain what she could add to that last statement. She ran her hand through her hair absentmindedly. "Right then, I planned to help with breakfast this morning."

"Coulson here, seems to think you'd be the best at getting Bucky to open up," Steve said.

Jemma felt suddenly very uncomfortable. Open him up for a crowd of onlookers… she did not want to do that to him. "It's just breakfast, and he does have to have his chest tubes removed later."

"I'm definitely _not_ staying for that," Trip said.

"Yes, it's just a medical procedure… um… it would be nice if he had some privacy for that," she said.

"He's been with Hydra," Coulson reminded her.

"Well, that wasn't his fault. And besides, what do you mean, because he's been under Hydra's control he doesn't deserve any privacy?"

Coulson didn't reply.

Steve smiled at her. "It's nice to see someone on Bucky's side, but he's been with Hydra for seventy years so try to keep that in mind. He is dangerous."

She made it to the door finally. "He has had ample opportunity to kill or maim me Captain, and so far I'm fine."

"So far."

* * *

She opened up the door, a tray of breakfast food in her hands. She set it on the table, and rolled it over to the side of his bed.

The Winter Soldier was still asleep.

"Let's see what we have here." She lifted the lid from the tray, a puff of steam rolled up toward the ceiling. "Mmm… pancakes, eggs, bacon, apple juice and white milk. Looks delicious."

He smiled a little, and slowly opened up his eyes. "Wendy?"

"I'm not going to respond if you keep calling me that."

Teeth. There were actual teeth. He smiled at her!

"That morphine must be good stuff," she said.

"I've had better."

"Oh, really?" She raised the head of his bed up until he was sitting up next to her.

He ran his tongue over his teeth, and looked up at her a little sheepishly and then turned toward the mirror to get a look at himself. "Wow, that's some hair…"

She couldn't help but laugh to herself. "You look fine."

"For someone who's had his head smashed against a pillow for hours, and that morphine... I have serious cotton mouth."

"Milk or apple juice?"

He lowered his eyes to the tray of food in front of him. "Haven't we been here before?"

She grinned remembering her time at Hydra being the person who had brought him his meals. "Kitchen help," she quipped.

"You seem to be getting better at your job."

"I don't know, those pancakes do look very tempting."

"Take them."

She dropped a straw into the small carton of milk and put it to his lips.

"I hate milk."

"Really?" She set it down and got the apple juice for him instead. This time holding up the cup of juice and pressing the straw to his lips. His eyes immediately met hers. Her fingers started to shake. This was such a strange scenario.

Luckily, he released the straw before she managed to somehow spill juice on him.

"Okay…" her voice trembled. That was about as intimate as she'd ever been with him. Maybe next time the nurse should be the one to handle breakfast… She was not emotionally involved with The Winter Soldier so doing things for him like feeding him wouldn't be so charged with feeling.

He watched her.

"Um, eggs?"

He nodded. This had to be about the most exciting thing for everyone standing outside the room to be observing. On the other hand, they were the ones who had decided to stick around and watch.

She got a small portion of scrambled eggs on the plastic fork and then dropped it before it got to his mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry." Jemma grabbed a napkin and then realized it had fallen down the side of his jaw and neck. She hesitated.

He was staring at her. His eyes boring holes through her but she refused to meet them.

"Well, then…" she said stupidly and touched his face for the first time lightly with a flimsy napkin. His skin felt electric under her fingers. She touched where the eggs had first hit the side of his face on the jaw and then she swabbed down his neck and picked the scrambled eggs from the collar of the notoriously, hideous hospital gown.

"Right… yes. Well, maybe bacon would be a safer- I mean, better choice…" She felt her cheeks hot, and tried to compose herself. When she turned back to try to feed him the bacon she wasn't certain what she expected exactly but what she was met with was a look of agony. "Bucky? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he put his head down and tried to lift his hands, but to no avail. She suspected he wanted to hide his face from her. "Yeah, I'm good."

"I'm… sorry about that. Darn plastic forks-"

He chuckled shortly, and stole a furtive look at her, his face still looked on the verge of tears. "Yeah, such useless silverware."

"Right." Was there something Coulson had wanted her to talk about? She doubted it was plastic silverware. Oh right… that Hydra base. Stupid base. She could care less about that right now. Right now her mind was on how to feed him a piece of bacon… there was something weirdly sensual about feeding him… no it wasn't chocolate covered strawberries or grapes or something… but as she held the end of the bacon, and he took it into his mouth, she could feel his breath on her fingers. The slight touch of his teeth from time to time and his lips…

The first piece of bacon he'd finished off had left bacon grease on her fingers, which she naturally just stuck into her mouth. The Winter Soldier seemed to be mesmerized by this action. His mouth was even a little open. After that she'd decided on using a napkin. Apparently she was not the only one who found this a highly stimulating breakfast.

After a while she had to break the tension. "So… I never thanked you for saving my life."

He met her eyes, seeming uncertain what she was talking about.

"At the old… well, I thought it was old, Hydra base? When you came to our rescue." She blushed even though she was trying to keep herself in interrogation mode, whatever that was.

His face darkened. "You're welcome." And his voice sounded different. Guarded.

"Well, I was just wondering…" Wow, her lab coat was really fascinating. Oh look, she'd spilled some sort of reddish liquid on it at some point and never bothered to get it out before throwing it into the wash and now it was permanently stained. She picked at the spot. "Um, just wondering… why were you there?" She lifted her eyes to look at him. "I thought you left Greensville."

He looked up from the stain on her lab coat and then into her eyes, tilting his head to one side. "Coulson sent you in here to ask me about that. Is that the reason you came to see me?"

Jemma's eyes widened. "Of course that's not the reason I came in here to see you."

He glanced off to the left, sullen, and eased himself back into his pillow.

She swung his tray table out of the way and walked directly in front of the mirror/window side of the room, blocking their conversation from Coulson and the rest, and leaned in toward him.

He turned to her, a look of surprise on his face.

"Yes, he did want me to ask you about that," she whispered. "But, of course that's not why I came to see you."

"Why then?" he asked defensively.

"Um… well, because you're my patient-"

This statement seemed to lose him.

"And, my friend… And probably the same reason you want me to visit you," she whispered hastily.

He seemed to perk up at this last comment. His eyes found hers, they were so close at that moment, and she was leaning in toward him, her elbow resting on his mattress. He looked down at her mouth and then back up into her eyes… His eyes dilated.

She felt her breath catch in her throat. They were watching. "I really am so thankful that you came to help us-"

"You."

"What?"

"I came to help you," he whispered.

"Oh." She inhaled the smell of his hair. It smelled wonderful, like some sort of shampoo… Pert or something. What a stupid name for shampoo… but, it would forever remind her of him now.

"Do you want to know why I was at the Hydra base?" he asked softly.

God, he smelled good. She adored the shape of his face, the light stubble over his chin… she couldn't care less what he was doing in Greensville. She just wanted to stare at him, and she suspected the look on her face said as much. Because his eyes softened, and his lips parted slightly.

"I, I… I don't need to know," she uttered. She could feel his breath warm against her skin.

"Jemma…"

She steadied herself. "Bucky… I, I… It will seem suspicious if I keep talking to you while blocking the window."

He bit his lower lip, his face twisting… forlorn.

"You have no idea what that expression does to me," she whispered pulling away from him. "I'll be in later to assist Dr. Surowitz. You know your chest tubes are coming out today?"

He looked at her but said nothing.

"It… won't hurt. You're healing so fast." She walked over to the door. "Everything will be all right, I promise."

The Winter Soldier stared at her. Sadly. He was killing her.

She exited the room. She had to get him out of there somehow…

* * *

"What was that all about?" Captain America was suddenly in front of her.

"W, what do you mean?"

"You blocked us from half of the interrogation," Coulson said. "We're you trying to gain his confidence?"

"Erm… well, he didn't tell me why he was at the Hydra base if that's what you mean." She hugged her folders close to her chest.

"I thought she was your 'secret weapon' Coulson?"

She shook her head. "I really think there's been a big mistake, I'm a biochemist, not an expert at interrogation techniques."

Steve turned to look down at her, arms folded. "Or, you're holding information from us."

"What?! No, I wouldn't do that. I swear, he didn't tell me anything about the Hydra base." _Not really a lie. Just an omission. He would've told me, but then I'd be in this same exact situation and it would be obvious to them that I was lying. _

"I should go in there-"

Coulson jumped in front of Steve as quickly as he could. "No, no give her some time. She just needs to work on him a little more."

Steve drew in a deep breath and looked over at the door to the room in question. "I was able to wake him up before." He looked down at Coulson, "I'll give you a little longer but then I'm taking matters into my own hands. I will talk to Bucky while he's here." And with that he walked off.

Coulson sighed. "Great."

"A couple more days of watching the two of them make goo-goo eyes at each other," May said glancing over at Jemma.

Jemma tried not to give May the satisfaction of her annoyance. _She really should get back to work. _"Well, I'd better get back to my interns." She moved down the dreaded hallway, practically running away from Coulson and May.

* * *

There was a problem. A serious problem. Jemma didn't like that S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken it upon themselves to imprison The Winter Soldier. Granted, he probably needed a psychiatrist… and maybe he should be paying for his crimes, but watching him being interrogated… and, being the interrogator… It was weighing on her.

"Now, when I say so I want you to take a deep breath and hold it. Okay Sergeant Barnes?" Dr. Surowitz had his hand against The Winter Soldier's chest, pushing it down, while the other hand gathered up the chest tubes firmly, but gently.

Jemma had a hold of The Winter Soldier's hand.

He nodded.

"Okay, here we go. This will be fast. Three, two, one. Take a deep breath."

He gripped her hand tight. She hadn't thought he'd be too worried about this little procedure. It probably felt weird but it wasn't supposed to be painful.

The Dr. yanked on the tubes, working them a little. They seemed stuck. After a few minutes he had them out. The Winter Soldier's face was red. It wasn't supposed to have taken so long. The doctor then hastily covered up the opening with a bandage.

"He healed didn't he?" she ventured.

Dr. Surowitz turned toward her anxiously. "Yes." He did not mention that he was worried they might have to put him back under and cut the tubes out, he'd healed so much, so quickly. But, she knew that was what he would have said if his patient wasn't in the room with him. "But, looks good. Tell Agent Coulson they can move him anytime."

"Move him? Where?"

"The brig." He closed the clipboard at the end of the bed up.

"No one told me that."

"Well, now you know. Good working with you Agent Simmons. I'll see you around the base," he said and walked out the door.

She looked down at The Winter Soldier.

He was looking up at her about as bewildered as she felt. His fingers were still entwined around hers.

The nurse came in with his clothes in her arms, and clicked the TV back on. "I hope you don't mind," she said to Jemma. "It's time for that show again," she smiled at him.

The Winter Soldier's eyes followed the nurse with uncertainty.

"Is, is he being moved right now?" Jemma asked. Why was this happening so fast? Maybe it just seemed fast because she hadn't come to a decision about what she was going to do about it.

"Apparently." The nurse set his clothes down on a chair.

"I have to get going Bucky." She took a step but he held on tight. She turned around to look at him. _My gosh, this could be goodbye. I thought Coulson was going to give me more time to talk to him… _

He was looking at her. Determined. Apprehensive. His eyes moving from one of her eyes to the other.

She leaned down to talk to him as privately as she could. "This isn't goodbye," she whispered.

He said nothing just released her hand slowly.

* * *

_Going to brig! _She was railing inwardly. He saved their team and he was being rewarded with a trip to prison. She stormed out, and down the empty hallway.

"Coffee Agent Simmons?"

Jemma had to back up, she'd nearly blown past the cafeteria when she heard the voice.

It was Agent Triplett. He was sitting in the cafeteria finishing up dinner.

"Oh, well, maybe I will." She sighed. "May I join you?"

"Yes, have a seat."

"What a day," she said finally.

"No kidding?"

"I'm exhausted." Her eyes wandered over the stack of papers in front of him. "What is that you're working on?"

"Oh, I borrowed the file on your friend-"

"The Winter Soldier? He's hardly my friend."

"Uh huh, well that's basically what I'm working on. Got to get it back to Coulson. And besides that well, mostly manuals and protocol and procedure stuff. "What did you want milk and sugar?"

"Hmm?" Her mind was not on coffee, it was on that file sitting in front of Trip. That's where it had gone to. Some sort of extended library loan… "That would be wonderful. Thank you Agent Triplett."

"No problem," he got up and walked over to the café line.

She rifled through his files immediately and there in that mess was indeed the infamous Winter Soldier file. She took the contents out of it, and put them into one of her files. Slipping the manila envelope back into his stack of papers.

"Here you go." Trip was suddenly right there, at her side.

"Oh, would you look at the time?" She glanced down at her phone. "I completely forgot. I have a bunch of tests I have to look in on."

"Can't they wait 'til later?" He sat down as she was standing up.

"They're timed I'm afraid." Jemma grabbed the coffee, thank heavens it had a lid. "Thank you for the coffee though." And, with that she swept out of the cafeteria and back to her little apartment.

* * *

She popped a bag of popcorn and sat down in front of the TV with the comfort of Doctor Who and his file in hand. Most of it was originally in Russian, translated into English underneath. Like most translations it probably didn't fully capture the original idea, but it was what she had. The Winter Soldier could speak and read Russian, he most likely, would get much more from this than she would.

Jemma looked at the two photos on the front page. One of a young, 20something Bucky, decked out in his circa 1940 military uniform. He seemed happy, ready to meet life head-on… "So young and sweet," she said absently. And then that other photo of him frozen, seemingly dead. Poor, poor man… Her heart went out to him. She ran her fingers lightly over the photos, and wondered what he had been like when he was young. Her great-grandfather's age… "Well now, I hadn't considered that," she said to herself. He would be that age too. Two of her great-grandfather's had fought in World War II.

She shut the file. She wasn't going to think on that. She laid back into the sofa and tried to put all thought of The Winter Soldier from her mind. Tried to stop thinking about him imprisoned now by S.H.I.E.L.D. But it was hard not to think of him… Poor soul. Somehow she'd have to get them to free him, talk to Coulson, make a decent case for him. This was crazy. Steve wouldn't put up with it would he? Sentence his dearest friend in the world to life in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison?

God, she was tired. She slipped her flats off, and curled up on the sofa. That 2AM wake up was brutal…

* * *

It was dark when she woke up. She wasn't quite sure what was going on… why she was awake. It was obviously the middle of the night. She rolled over and snuggled back against the sofa cushions.

"Jemma?" A soft voice.

"Hmm?..."

"Jemma." A man's voice. Someone was in her room.

Now she was awake. She opened her eyes. Now she felt the extra weight on the sofa. He was over her, so close, whispering into her ear… Her eyes widened.

"Bucky?..."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, or any of the characters or worlds associated with Marvel. I just lay claim to my own, personal genius.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

"Bucky?..." She could feel his presence, his body inches from her own. Jemma reached over and turned on a light.

The Winter Soldier was hovering just over her body. He was dressed in his leather and boots. The straps that she'd cut with medical scissors had been repaired with black duct tape. She wasn't certain what he was doing there, on top of her, in her room or how long he'd been loose in the base… or for that matter, who he'd killed in order to be loose in the base.

For some stupid reason, she was happy to see him. She smiled even though she knew she shouldn't be smiling.

"We have to get out of here," he said softly.

"Uh… we?"

He stood up, pulling her by one arm.

"Wait, I'm not leaving. I work here."

He met her eyes darkly. "You have to."

"What?" What was going on here? "I don't want to go."

"I'm sorry Jemma. It's for your own good. If you don't go they'll only think you helped me escape and arrest you." He took her by the hand and began to drag her along.

"Oh my gosh, wait escape? What are you talking about?- I don't have my shoes on. And, and…" She reached for his file. "I got your file for you."

He stopped and opened it up, turning to the page with his old military photo. His face crumpled sort of, like he'd been hit in the gut and then he slammed it shut and shoved it back at her. "Later."

"Bucky!" She knocked over a lamp as he dragged her out. "Please don't do this. This looks so bad."

He held onto her with his metal hand.

She had a vision of Fitz deciding this was the best time to wake up for a late night snack and get pummeled due to bad timing. "Please, don't hurt my friends."

He didn't respond, just kept walking to the back stairs. And down they went, down three flights and then out the door. They had a decent walk ahead of them. She didn't want him to be captured, but she didn't want to go with him either.

"How did you escape?"

He pulled her to one side, and surveyed the hangar they were standing in. Two agents, specialists, most likely, were talking to each other.

She saw an opportunity to nip this entire scenario in the bud and seized it. "Bucky let me go!"

They heard her, got down and drew their guns. "Who's there?!"

The Winter Soldier held her down in the shadows with his metal arm. He was impossibly strong, but one of the men rushed them and he let her go.

The agent leaped toward them firing his gun.

The Winter Soldier took the gun out of his hand as he flew by, as if it was nothing, and knocked him out with the butt of it.

Jemma made a run for it, back the way they'd come. In the distance she heard several shots and then nothing.

And then, on her way back upstairs, he had her arm.

She fell back one step terrified at first.

He met her eyes. There was no malice there he just looked determined. "This way."

"No Bucky, no. I'll lose my job over this," she rambled. "And, I've worked so hard to get here."

Now there was some movement at the base. The gunfire had woken up some of the other slumbering agents.

She looked out at the hangar, there was an array of planes, including _The Bus_, helicopters and vehicles. He was dragging her over to them. "I don't know the first thing about piloting any of these."

"I do."

"W, which one?"

"All of them."

_Good lord, I'm never going to see my friends again. _"Won't flying make a lot of noise?"

His pace slowed.

"And… a plane would be easy to track."

He sped up. "You're right." And led her across the hangar and through a pair of metal doors she had never seen anyone use before. They were, of course, locked. He ripped one of them off its hinges, sounding a horn-like alarm, and reclaimed her hand, dragging her along behind him.

They were in a cave. It was paved, and lit by electric lights… and it was cold.

At the sound of the alarm he began to run, and she was running right along with him.

"Bucky," she panted. "You have to slow down. I c,can't run this fast! I'm going to fall down!"

A bat flew by them, flying erratically.

The annoying alarm was even loud in the cave, possibly more so because it was echoing down the corridor.

He glanced left and right looking for another way out.

"Slow down Bucky!" She fell to the ground.

He stopped, and helped her to her feet. "I'm sorry."

She tried to catch her breath. "I'm too much trouble," she gasped. "Just go, and leave me behind-"

Quickly he leaned down, and picked her up by the waist with his one metal arm and before she could stop him he threw her, like a sack of potatoes, over his shoulder, and then took off like a shot.

"I'm going to be sick!" Besides having a shoulder in her gut she had full view of the back of his legs and the pavement moving by fast. She squeezed her eyes shut. _Don't look. Don't look. _"Oh my gosh," she tried to hold onto his neck, and fumbled for it. It was just too far from her reach. Instead she managed to grab a hold of his waist, which probably made it much more difficult for him to run, and if she fell, she had just made certain she'd smash her head on the ground, but she was too petrified not to hold on somewhere. She felt him trying to readjust her weight, pull her back, but she refused to let go.

She could hear the sound of other footfalls, and people yelling to one another in the distance but he didn't turn around, he kicked through another set of doors and then they were outside.

It was a warm summer night. Balmy. It had been raining, and streetlights shone on the black pavement. Instead of turning back and engaging the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents following them, he raced across a parking lot and leaped over a fence, all the while, she dangled over his shoulder helplessly. Her body, flying up and slamming back down onto his metal shoulder.

"Gah!" she gasped. There had to be bruising. She was not a fan of this being taken hostage crap, even if he did, for some silly reason, think this was for the best. Either she was the hostage or he was the hostage or they were both hostages… she just wanted a quiet tea with him in some coffee house somewhere. This was insane.

They were racing down a road somewhere, through some pretty dark and dingy area of a city. It looked industrial, though abandoned. Where were they Chicago?

And just when she didn't think she could take much more of this bouncing around on his shoulder, blood rushing to her head, he stopped and lowered her to the wet pavement.

Jemma staggered. He steadied her.

"Bucky…" she said exasperatedly. "What have you done?"

"Bucky!"

She looked around. Someone was yelling. She knew that voice… but couldn't place it.

Captain America appeared on the street in front of them. "Bucky, let Agent Simmons go and come back to the base with me."

The Winter Soldier pushed Jemma gently to one side. "It's not going to happen."

"Bucky, don't make me bring you in."

"I'm not going back." He attempted to walk away but Steve put himself between The Winter Soldier and his freedom. He sighed, and slammed his metal fist into Captain America's shield.

Steve threw him backward.

Jemma took several steps back. Taking cover beside a dumpster.

The Winter Soldier knocked Steve back with his metal arm, and then it was a flurry of thrown punches and dodges happening faster than she knew humans could fight. Captain America managed to get a hold of him and throw him, but The Winter Soldier landed on his feet. He came at Steve fast, and fresh, as if none of this fighting was exhausting him at all even though he'd just carried her for miles, running full speed.

Steve's shield flew through the air, The Winter Soldier caught it and threw it, embedding it, unwittingly, into the dumpster Jemma was crouching beside.

There was a sudden, tremendous crack of thunder and flash of lightning and The Winter Soldier had him by the wrists.

Steve slammed him in the torso repeatedly with his knee.

"No!" Jemma screamed out. His collapsed lung!

The Winter Soldier flinched, he glanced over at her. Almost as if he just wanted reassurance she was still there, and slammed Steve in the face with his metal arm.

It thundered again. Threatening to downpour.

"Come back to the base with me," Steve panted.

"I'm not your prisoner." The Winter Soldier came at him again, throwing a flurry of punches that Captain America blocked just as quickly. And again, he managed to hammer The Winter Soldier in the side with his kneecap.

This time he grasped at his side, but fought on, attempting to protect it with one hand.

Apparently Steve seized at this opportunity and planted one solid punch to his chest.

"No!" Jemma ran toward them.

Captain America looked at her for a split second, long enough for The Winter Soldier to land a blow to the side of his head with his metal fist. Steve fell to the ground.

"Oh no." Jemma stood over him, "oh Steve."

The Winter Soldier took her hand in his. "He won't be unconscious long," he panted. "This way." He turned toward a warehouse and then ran between it and the one beside it, with her in tow.

It was very dark, there was a fair amount of debris strewn between the buildings. The old factories were huge, something out straight of the 1940s. She assumed he must be feeling some innate knowledge about all of this running around in abandoned warehouses, jumping fences, and climbing over empty refrigerators left in alleys. It must've seemed very familiar.

After a few minutes it started to rain, not too much, just a light sprinkle. Probably enough to awaken an unconscious Captain America though.

"In here," he said shortly, as they dashed through a rusty red metal door on the side of one of the buildings and into a dark, abandoned warehouse.

The rain suddenly picked up, and she could hear it landing on the metal roof. It was very loud, probably because the building had become little more than an empty carapace. There was no machinery of any kind inside, and the large windows were smashed. Graffiti tags marked the walls. There were a few stacked blue plastic barrels, with some sort of dubious liquid pooling at the top and an old tarp lying beside it on the concrete floor.

She shivered. It was balmy outside, but inside this concrete factory, she was cold.

"What now?" she found herself asking him. Steve would surely find them.

He let her hand drop and wandered over to the tarp, holding his side and slumped to the ground. "I just need to rest for a minute."

Jemma followed him. "Are you all right? I saw Steve hit you in the chest."

The Winter Soldier leaned back against the blue barrels.

She set down his file and reached out for him. "Are you injured?"

He stared at her.

"Bucky?" She knelt down beside him, removing the hand that was holding his side. "Let me look all right?" This time she didn't have her medical scissors with her, she worked the buckles open, slowly exposing a little more skin and taut muscles as she worked her way down.

The rain was really loud pattering on the roof but she thought she heard him swallow.

She undid the last buckle at his waist and slowly opened up his leather armor, revealing a myriad of red and blue bruises covering his stomach and as she pulled it nearly off of his shoulder, bruising, like a fist directly over his wound.

"Oh no," she gasped and pried the bandage off of his chest. Expecting the wound to be reopened.

She could feel The Winter Soldier's hair brushing against her forehead. He was so quiet, she didn't even hear him breathing, it was as if he was holding his breath. Jemma peeled the bandage off, but there was nothing… The wound was completely healed over. How could that be?

"I've never seen anyone heal so fast…" she uttered. Her fingers traced the unblemished skin where one would think that there might, at least, be a scar. But no, no scar, no nothing that seemed out of place, except a bruise. A fist shaped bruise. It was fascinating. She lingered on his old wound, and then slowly explored the bruises he'd taken to his stomach. Her fingertips grazing his skin lightly, lingering, gradually moving from one set of injures to the next.

And then, he sighed.

Jemma took away her hand suddenly, surprised and looked up at him. He was watching her, biting his lower lip. His face inches away from hers. He had that tortured, forlorn look on his face intermingled with something else entirely- need… hope.

She felt her breath coming fast. Her heart pounding in her chest.

He dipped his head, his sea-blue eyes lingering on hers, and on her mouth and then she felt his lips ghosting over her own.

She gasped. _Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me. _There was no thought about how they'd gotten where they now were, in some abandoned warehouse. No thought about Captain America or her team. There was only the two of them.

He kissed her tentatively. Gently.

She felt his breath, ragged against her skin as their lips parted.

"Jemma…"

"Bucky," she exhaled, and pressed her lips against his before he pulled away.

He moaned against her, tilting his head to one side and slipped his tongue into her mouth with a rusty though apparently well practiced technique that seemed to be coming back to him little by little.

She felt his arms wrapping around her, his human hand slid up to cup her jaw as he kissed her. Her heart felt full to bursting. His mouth against hers electric. She ran her fingers through the back of his head taking a handful of his dark hair in her hand, holding him tight, in place.

He sighed into her mouth and pulled her body close to his.

She was crushed against his muscular chest, his metal arm enveloped her waist making it impossible for her to escape.

He kissed the side of her mouth, and then gradually down her neck, taking his time with her, nibbling just below her ear.

Jemma felt herself go weak, and held onto him for support. Her head at first falling back and then slowly coming to rest on the side of his head.

Somehow she felt herself being maneuvered onto the floor, his arms still around her, he pinned her underneath him.

The Winter Soldier, now on top of her, kissed her harder, deeper. His body was heavy on her, his legs tangled with hers. This was that scenario she'd played over and over in her head dozens of times.

She ran her hands over his shoulders, feeling the cold metal under her fingers and across his strong back, up into his hair and then tender on his jaw, holding him there.

"Jemma," his voice hitched a little.

She licked his bottom lip, sucking it into her mouth…

He groaned, and crushed her mouth under his. Desperation… Need that hadn't been filled in seventy years.

She inhaled the scent of leather, and gunpowder… and some sort of aftershave… She kissed his face, the cleft of his chin, and down his neck. Sucking and licking and causing him to gasp and whimper and bite his engorged lower lip.

Jemma slid to one side, and slowly eased him onto his back…

* * *

It was still raining when she woke up, The Winter Soldier's hair was in her eyes. She smiled as she brushed it off her face and cuddled against his body, warm and familiar. It was dark out, so she had just dozed off for a few minutes she assumed.

Jemma turned onto her side facing him.

He was asleep on his back.

She stroked the side of his face gently. "Bucky?" she whispered.

He smiled a little, maybe he wasn't so asleep after all. "Wendy?"

Jemma slid her hand over his jaw and turned his face to hers. He opened his eyes and she kissed him lightly, he was so drowsy and pliable and languidly, gradually the kiss deepened.

He rolled on top of her. Slowly, groggy…

"Jemma…" he whispered into her ear breathlessly.

"I love you," she uttered into his hair before she really realized what she was saying or fully understanding that she even felt that way.

He lifted his head and looked down into her eyes, seemingly stunned. "No one has said anything like that to me in so… so long…" His teeth clenched, and his face looked as if he were fighting tears. He hid his face in the crook of her neck and then when he spoke again she could hear the tears choking his voice. "No one has touched me with anything besides a scalpel in years…"

She pulled him close, holding him tight. "Bucky." She kissed the side of his face tenderly.

"Stupid name… for buck teeth…"

"What?"

"It isn't for Buchanan…"

"But," she pulled away a little to look at him. "When did you remember that?"

"About two months ago," he sniffled.

"Two months?... So, you… you've been remembering things ever since that day we were in that open house in Greensville?"

He nodded.

Jemma studied his face. "Well, they certainly aren't buck teeth anymore."

He laughed through his tears. "Yeah, I guess I grew into them."

"I guess so. You're completely handsome."

At first he smiled and then it sort of crumbled. "The new fist of Hydra… I've done things… I can't believe…" He closed his metal hand, frustrated, and clearly horrified by his actions.

She put her hand on top of his fist gently. "They made you do it."

"I still did it. It was me… no one else."

"You saved me."

His eyes were suddenly fixed on hers. "That's different."

"How?"

"I love you." He lowered his eyes, and said almost too softly to hear, "but I won't saddle you with that…"

She took his chin in her hand forcing him to look at her and smiled. "You love me?" She thought her heart would burst. "Bucky!" She kissed him.

"No-"

Jemma latched onto his head, refusing to let him go.

He gasped for air. "I'll only-"

She slid her tongue into his mouth and her hand down his back.

The Winter Soldier tilted his head and trapped her beneath his body, desperate for more. "I love you… I do…"

She smiled contentedly.

"I went back for you," he gasped. "In Greensville… I came back to find you… But, you weren't there."

"You did?"

"Yes. I was really confused," he whispered into her ear. "I just kept wandering around that area. Sometimes I'd forget where I'd gone or why I was there, and then all of a sudden it would hit me again. You, and that crazy calendar. And there'd be this weird music on the radio in cars… and the cars were so odd… and that was when I knew I was Bucky. But, I thought it was 1943 and the new stuff… it would scare me, so I started climbing back up that mountain. I thought I lived there. But then I realized I was climbing back to that base and I didn't want to get all the way to the top because Hydra might see me." He laid down beside her. "Where did you go?"

"Canada."

"What?"

She smiled at him and smoothed his hair. "Coulson came to get me. He was worried about me. We flew to a secret base in Canada… Well, it's not so secret anymore. Not after Colonel Talbot came waltzing in and…"

A look of confusion crossed his face.

"Well, it's not really important. I'll tell you about it another time."

He kissed her forehead gently.

"Don't go," she said remembering he was running from them. The team. Captain America.

"I can't go back to your base. I know I should go to federal prison for the crimes I've probably committed… but… Hydra has kept me imprisoned for years. Please don't ask me to-"

"Stay." She looked at him. "We'll work it out."

His face shifted, all resolve dissolving into agony… "I want to." He pulled her close and whispered. "I'm afraid."

"Shh… It's all right. You can't go on living like you did in Greensville either can you? Lost, confused. I won't let them hurt you." She pressed the side of her face against his chest and held him tight, slowly easing the shirt open, and exposing the metal shoulder. His chest was covered with scars where the metal was attached to the skin.

Jemma softly kissed the scars.

His chin came to rest on her the top of her head. His hand on the back of her neck. He sighed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership of the Marvel Universe, only to my own genius.**

* * *

**Stay**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

It was early morning, the sun was just starting to come up revealing a dazzling new day, when Jemma and The Winter Soldier exited the warehouse out of those rusty, red metal doors.

He opened up the door for her, looking happy, sated… for now, and she, for the life of her, could not stop smiling.

He was smiling too, a little hopeful, a little nervous. He was watching her lovingly.

They took a couple steps out onto the broken concrete. It had stopped raining, and the morning was cool.

He slid his hand into hers.

She turned and kissed him on the cheek.

He cracked a smile, and returned the kiss playfully on her lips. And then, what started out as a playful kiss turned a little more serious, a little more passionate.

"Hi Bucky."

Jemma spun around.

Captain America was sitting on the roof of the warehouse they'd just left. His clothing rumpled, his hair sort of flattened to his head, as if he'd been rained on and then just dried out by the air.

"Oh, hello Steve." The Winter Soldier's voice sounded a little sheepish.

"Captain Rogers, what are you doing on the roof?" Jemma asked.

"Nothing."

"Wait," she said starting to put things together. "How long have you been up there?"

He looked down a little and blushed.

_Please tell me you were not up there all night. _"Oh… oh… well, I appreciate that you decided to remain outside."

"Yeah," he glanced at The Winter Soldier. "Well…"

"You were outside?" She felt blood rushing to her face.

"Yes." He answered immediately, maybe a little too immediately.

"Mostly," The Winter Soldier said.

Jemma looked at him. "What?" her voice pitched.

"I'm… I'm sorry about that."

"He opened up the door at some point," The Winter Soldier said softly into her hair. "Didn't stay too long though."

"What?" her voice pitched again. _Mortified. If I wasn't so head over heels with Bucky I'd probably slink off to die right now. _She looked at Steve and covered her face with her hand.

"Sorry." Steve took a deep breath and then met The Winter's Soldier's eyes. "Okay, I have to ask, where are you going?"

The Winter Soldier seemed to be weighing his options. "Back to the base, but not as a prisoner. I don't want to fight you Steve." And then as if in afterthought he added, "after all, look what I did to your eye."

Steve seemed genuinely shocked. He touched his swollen cheek, black and blue from where The Winter Soldier had nailed him in the head the night before. "Bucky?"

"Sometimes," he muttered.

"Bucky has agreed to accompany me back to _The Playground _but only under certain conditions. Number 1) No prison cell. 2) No more interrogations. 3) He is free and can come and go as he pleases."

"And, has Coulson agreed to these conditions?" Captain America said.

"Not yet, but he will. After all Deathlok is out there roaming the streets, a former mind-controlled Hydra agent- completely dangerous. But, we're trusting him to do the right thing. I think we can extend that little courtesy to a war hero like Bucky. Don't you Captain Rogers?" _Wow, it was incredibly hard to talk to a celebrity like that, but it had to be done._ She had to stuff that thinking about Steve as an icon down and pull herself together.

"Who's Deathlok?" Steve asked.

"I thought everyone knew…" she stammered. "I'll tell you about him later."

Steve jumped down.

The Winter Soldier flinched but didn't step back. He put one arm around Jemma protectively.

"War hero huh?" Captain America smiled a little at The Winter Soldier.

He stared at Steve.

Jemma knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn't deserve that recognition, not after all the years fighting against the very same people he'd been fighting for.

"Yes," she answered for him smiling. She squeezed The Winter Soldier's hand and looked up at him. "Stunningly handsome too."

His eyes met hers, he seemed a bit thrown by that statement.

"Ah yeah, Bucky was always a hit with the ladies."

"What?"

The Winter Soldier now looked back at Steve. He seemed pretty lost.

"Bucky, it's all right," she whispered against his cheek.

"I, I don't remember that," he hissed.

"Don't worry about that. You'll probably be getting bits and pieces for a while." She turned back toward Captain America. "Do you remember Steve?"

Steve seemed to be very interested in that question. He had a bit of a hopeful look in his eyes.

The Winter Soldier grinned all at once. "Of course I do. I have had all of these different flashes of Steve getting beat up, at first I thought it was the same memory but then I realized he was wearing different clothes every time, although the locations were pretty similar. Alleys… parking lots…" He looked at Steve. "You got beat up a lot."

Steve's mouth quirked a little. "Yeah, I did."

"Really?" Jemma said surprised.

"All the time," The Winter Soldier chuckled.

"Well, not… all the time-"

"Yeah you did."

"Thanks Bucky," Steve grumbled.

"Anytime pal."

Steve paused and then met The Winter Soldier's eyes, it was as if he'd seen a ghost. His eyes teared up.

"I, I've said that before?"

Steve nodded. "Many times."

* * *

After a phone call to Agent Coulson explaining the conditions in which The Winter Soldier would be returning Agent Simmons, The Winter Soldier and Captain America began their trek back to the base. It was broad daylight so keeping _The Playground _a secret base was going to be difficult for, well, the guys. With everyone on the look-out for superheroes these days, the two of them were pretty noticeable, especially Cap.

Jemma hadn't been outside the base at all, except through the cave, that was the only entrance she knew of. Luckily Steve knew of a more discreet way in. She was envisioning some sort of red telephone booth via Harry Potter, but no… they just went into a regular looking brick office building in the city (what city? No clue.) And down an elevator to the basement level, and then through a secret, hidden entrance through an old subway. This opened up to a room with a receptionist's desk and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents sitting around in a lobby carrying guns.

Back inside the base again.

Jemma could feel The Winter Soldier tense up. She gazed up at him in his black leather. His longish brown hair just touching his collar. He was so striking.

He must've felt her eyes on him, because he looked at her.

She smiled at him, trying to be comforting and mouthed, 'everything will be all right'.

He didn't seem to have any idea what she was saying.

Steve was leading them down more stairs and soon Jemma recognized where they were. The team was standing at the hangar waiting for them.

"Fitz," Jemma smiled at him.

"Well, speak of the devil," his eyes flew to The Winter Soldier who was right behind her.

He was clearly suspicious about this new situation between Jemma and The Winter Soldier and she wasn't going to press the issue, given his feelings toward her.

"Well, here they are," Steve said waving his hand in front of the two of them as if presenting them, and then he walked over to a parked forklift a couple feet away, and leaned back against it facing them.

"Simmons," Coulson said.

"Hello Sir."

"I take it you're fine?"

She looked herself over briefly to see how much it was apparent that she'd been in a warehouse rolling around on a dirty tarp all night. "Yes. We're both fine. It was a bit of a misunderstanding you see, Bucky thought that you would think I was helping him to escape, and that I'd end up being punished for that. So, he took me with him to avoid that, but now that things are straightened out The Winter Soldier is looking forward to working with us on a voluntarily basis. Right Bucky?"

"Yes," he said softly still seemingly wary of Coulson.

"And boy am I ready to get back to work," Jemma rubbed her hands together.

"Not so fast Agent Simmons," Coulson said. "I'm not so sure we should let you come back."

"What?" Her voice pitched. "Why not?"

He pointed at the file in her hand. "You broke into my desk and stole a file."

"Well… it's only one file, and I didn't steal it from your desk."

"No," Trip stepped up. "You stole it from me when I bought you a coffee."

"Oh, that does sound very impolite doesn't it?" Jemma said.

"A bit," Coulson said.

"But, we're going to overlook that," Steve said folding his arms.

The team looked over at him, and then back at Jemma and the imposing Winter Soldier. Who was really not so imposing when he was flat on his back gasping her name… but she put that out of her mind… for the moment.

"Right. Yes. We're going to overlook it, after all, if you'd just asked me if you could borrow it I would've let you. It's not as if you haven't read it before," Coulson said.

"That's good news." A smile quirked at the side of her mouth.

"Hi," Skye proffered her hand for The Winter Soldier to shake. "I'm Skye."

He regarded her hand uncertainly, took a breath and shook it… something he probably hadn't done in seventy years. "Bucky."

"Bucky Barnes. I remember your name on the wall at The Hub. I never thought I'd be meeting you in person though." She turned to Jemma and whispered, "Reasonably handsome?"

"Well…" Jemma shrugged and smiled.

"Are we really going to give him access to our base? Do we really know he's no longer working for Hydra?" Fitz complained to Trip.

"We're really going to," Steve said.

The Winter Soldier nodded appreciatively at him. "I'm not with Hydra," he said softly. "I'm not with anyone…"

"He just needs some time," Jemma said stepping forward, "to adjust to the 21st century."

"I'll help him," said Steve. "I know some great restaurants."

"Good to have you back Agent Simmons," Coulson smiled at her and then he turned to The Winter Soldier. "We will need to debrief you."

"Is that like an interrogation without handcuffs?" The Winter Soldier asked.

"Something like that."

"Wonderful. Exactly what I was hoping for."

"It will be all right," Jemma squeezed his arm. "Director Coulson is going to be friendly, aren't you Sir?"

"Yep."

Jemma continued, "After all, just think of all the inside information Bucky has on Captain America."

Coulson perked up.

"Great," Steve said.

The Winter Soldier flashed an adorable broad smile, at Captain America.

"Wait, what was all that about?" Skye asked, looking from one to the other.

"I don't know…" The Winter Soldier said. "Something… about a dog, and your pants hanging on the line to dry?..."

Steve stood up and pointed at him, "Don't you dare tell that story."

The Winter Soldier grinned. "Yeah… it's starting to come back to me now."

Captain America moved toward him swiftly while The Winter Soldier hid behind Jemma. "Bucky-"

"That mutt that lived around the neighborhood… and your only pair of pants," his face seemed to widen suddenly, and he added quickly, "and that dog got a hold of them and you had to chase him down Court Street in your-"

"Buck!" He made a grab for The Winter Soldier.

He dodged around the side of Jemma chuckling. "And you never did catch him!"

"Oh, my word," Jemma said as she was now the only divider between Captain America and The Winter Soldier.

"Yeah, debriefing will be fun." Coulson smiled.

* * *

They'd spent the day wandering around _The Playground _getting him set up in his own apartment, and introducing him to some of the agents. They hadn't really had much time to talk to her team because they were busy doing their own work, and The Winter Soldier needed so much consideration, being back in the world and in a new century. He was free to come and go as he pleased and the debriefing had been postponed because he just wasn't ready for that yet. He needed time.

Jemma lay on her back beside The Winter Soldier on the roof, somewhere, in some big city far, far above the base, staring up at the moon. The moon was sort of magical looking, partially hidden behind dark clouds, and there was a smattering of stars glittering here and there.

She turned her head to look at him. "I'm glad you're here."

He smiled at her and gently caressed her face.

"Are you glad?"

He leaned over her on his elbow. "I'm glad I'm with you."

She searched his eyes. "What are you thinking?"

The Winter Soldier smiled at her playfully and then he blushed deep red from his neck into his face. "Oh man…"

"You're blushing!"

"I'm… not."

"Good heavens, I'm not sure I want to know what you're thinking!" she laughed.

He pinned her underneath him, and whispered into her ear, "You want to know." And kissed her tenderly.

* * *

"_Not really sure how to feel about it._

_Something in the way you move_

_Makes me feel like I can't live without you._

_It takes me all the way._

_I want you to stay."_

_~ Rihanna_

* * *

The End

* * *

**I want to thank everyone who has been reading along with this story, all the favorites and follows and kind reviews have meant the world to me. It's really been wonderful to bring this little story to you. I've basically been living in this story for the past two months and boy, I'm going to miss it. **

**I might write a little more. A sort of part 2 followup to this story. I'm a little pressed for time at the moment but we'll see. I completely enjoyed myself and hope you did too.**

Yours,

**Doc**


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